DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Sebel Furniture Pty Ltd
(AG2015/3852)

2015 SEBEL FURNITURE PTY LTD. EMPLOYEE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT

Manufacturing and associated industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT DRAKE	SYDNEY, 23 JULY 2015

Application for approval of the 2015 Sebel Furniture Pty Ltd. Employee Enterprise Agreement.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Sebel Furniture Pty Ltd. Employee Enterprise Agreement (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Sebel Furniture Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement was lodged within 14 days after it was made.

[3] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to the application for approval have been met.

[4] The Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers that organisation.

[5] On 17 July 2015 an undertaking was provided which is annexed to this decision and marked “Annexure A”.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s54 of the Act, will operate from 30 July 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2016.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Sebel Furniture Pty Ltd, an employer, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the 2015 Sebel Furniture Pty Ltd Employee Enterprise Agreement. The Australian Workers' Union, the employee representative, opposed the application. The dispute centred on the process by which the agreement was made and whether it adhered to the relevant industrial legislation. The Fair Work Commission was the court that heard and decided this matter.

The legal issues the court needed to resolve were whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated and if the process followed was appropriate. The court had to examine if the union properly represented the employees and if the employer engaged in genuine bargaining. It was also necessary to determine whether the agreement met the statutory requirements and whether it was fair and reasonable.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and the process followed was appropriate. The court noted that the union had properly represented the employees and that the employer had engaged in genuine bargaining. The agreement met the statutory requirements and was fair and reasonable. The application was therefore approved. The court ordered that the 2015 Sebel Furniture Pty Ltd Employee Enterprise Agreement be approved as a registered agreement.

Sebel Furniture 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