RGIS Australian Employment Service Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 3086

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

RGIS Australian Employment Service Pty Ltd
(AG2012/12647)

RGIS CASUAL EMPLOYEE AGREEMENT 2012

Clerical industry
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 16 MAY 2013

Application to approve the RGIS Casual Employee Agreement 2012.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the RGIS Casual Employee Agreement 2012 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by RGIS Australian Employment Service Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 23 May 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 16 May 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application by RGIS Australian Employment Service Pty Ltd to approve the RGIS Casual Employee Agreement 2012. The application was made under section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the proposed agreement adequately covered the terms and conditions of employment for casual employees and whether it complied with the legislative requirements for such agreements.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms of employment, including the calculation of ordinary and penalty rates, and whether it complied with the statutory provisions regarding casual employment agreements. Specifically, the Commission had to determine if the agreement contained all the mandatory terms required by the Fair Work Act and whether it met the standards of procedural fairness and good faith bargaining.

The Commission found that the proposed agreement did not adequately cover the terms of employment for casual employees, particularly in relation to the calculation of penalty rates. The agreement failed to specify the rate at which penalty rates would be paid, which was a mandatory term under the Fair Work Act. Additionally, the Commission was concerned that the agreement did not reflect the outcomes of genuine bargaining between the parties. Consequently, the Commission dismissed the application for approval of the agreement.

The Commission's final orders were that the application by RGIS Australian Employment Service Pty Ltd to approve the RGIS Casual Employee Agreement 2012 was dismissed. The Commission directed the parties to return to the negotiating table to ensure that the agreement addressed all mandatory terms and reflected the outcomes of genuine bargaining.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established