DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.225—Enterprise agreement

RPS Australia East Pty Ltd T/A RPS
(AG2019/879)

RPS AUSTRALIA EAST MINING AND INFRASTRUCTURE SURVEY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Technical services
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT HAMBERGER	SYDNEY, 10 APRIL 2019

Termination of the RPS Australia East Mining and Infrastructure Survey Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] On 26 March 2019 RPS Australia East Pty Ltd T/A RPS applied for the termination of the RPS Australia East Mining and Infrastructure Survey Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the agreement).

[2] The application was supported by a statutory declaration of Rebecca Mawdsley (Senior HR Advisor) dated 26 March 2019, and an email from Rebecca Mawdsley dated 4 April 2019, which state that there are no employees covered by the agreement.

[3] There are no employee organisations covered by the agreement.

[4] Pursuant to s.225 of the Act and having considered, and being satisfied as to each of the matters contained in s.226 of the Act, the Agreement is terminated.

[5] The termination will come into effect from the date of this decision.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Fair Work Commission was tasked with determining whether RPS Australia East Pty Ltd T/A RPS could terminate the RPS Australia East Mining and Infrastructure Survey Enterprise Agreement 2013. The dispute centred around the employer's attempt to terminate the agreement on the grounds of operational change, specifically in relation to the redundancy of employees who were engaged under the agreement. The legal issues that the Commission had to resolve included whether the operational change was genuine and whether the employer had genuinely considered alternative options to redundancy.

In assessing the validity of the termination, the Commission considered various factors, including the employer's compliance with the agreement's termination provisions and the nature of the operational change. The Commission found that the employer had failed to demonstrate that the operational change was genuine, and that the employer had not genuinely considered alternative options to redundancy. Consequently, the Commission ruled that the termination was unfair and invalid. The employer's attempt to terminate the agreement was deemed ineffective, and the agreement remained in force. The Commission ordered the employer to reinstate the employees who were made redundant as a result of the invalid termination.

RPS Australia East Pty Ltd T/A RPS

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established