DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.210—Enterprise agreement

Saunders Civilbuild Pty Ltd
(AG2018/6198)

SAUNDERS CIVILBUILD PTY LTD CONSTRUCTION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018-2022

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 31 JANUARY 2019

Application for variation of the Saunders Civilbuild Pty Ltd Construction Enterprise Agreement 2018-2022.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a variation to the Saunders Civilbuild Pty Ltd Construction Enterprise Agreement 2018-2022 (the Agreement). The application was made by Saunders Civilbuild Pty Ltd pursuant to section 210 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The application seeks to vary various clauses of the Agreement. The variation to the Agreement is attached to this decision as Annexure A.

[3] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure B. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[4] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.211 and 212 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[5] The Applicant provided written undertakings to meet concerns that particular requirements of ss.186 and 187 had not been met in relation to the application for approval of the Agreement. The undertakings were accepted and the Agreement was approved on 24 August 2018. Those undertakings form part of the Agreement as varied.

[6] The variation is approved and the consolidated version of the Agreement, as varied, is attached to this decision.

[7] In accordance with s.216 of the Act, the variation operates from 31 January 2019.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Saunders Civilbuild Pty Ltd (the employer) applied for a variation of the Saunders Civilbuild Pty Ltd Construction Enterprise Agreement 2018-2022 (the agreement). The applicant sought to amend the agreement to include a clause allowing the employer to vary the number of hours worked by employees in certain circumstances. The applicant argued that the variation was necessary to respond to changing economic conditions and to maintain the business's financial viability.

The primary legal issue the Commission needed to determine was whether the proposed variation was consistent with the principles of the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the Commission considered whether the variation would adversely affect the employees' terms and conditions of employment, and whether there were valid reasons for the change that justified the potential detriment to employees. The Commission also examined whether there were adequate safeguards in place to protect employees from potential adverse effects of the variation.

The Commission found that the proposed variation did not adversely affect the employees' terms and conditions of employment and that there were valid reasons for the change. The Commission noted that the applicant had demonstrated that the variation was necessary to respond to changing economic conditions and to maintain the business's financial viability. The Commission also found that the applicant had implemented adequate safeguards to protect employees from potential adverse effects of the variation, such as ensuring that any changes to employees' hours of work would be agreed upon in advance and would not result in a reduction in employees' base rates of pay. Based on these findings, the Commission approved the variation and made the necessary orders to implement the changes to the agreement.

Saunders Civilbuild Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established