DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Sebel Furniture Pty Ltd
(AG2019/511)

2019 SEBEL PTY LTD. EMPLOYEE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	SYDNEY, 8 APRIL 2019

Application for approval of the 2019 Sebel Pty Ltd. Employee Enterprise Agreement.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the 2019 Sebel Pty Ltd. Employee Enterprise Agreement (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act). It has been made by Sebel Furniture 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 “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 15 April 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Sebel Furniture Pty Ltd applied for approval of the 2019 Sebel Pty Ltd. Employee Enterprise Agreement. The applicant sought to have the agreement approved as a low-average national wage case, arguing that it met the criteria for such approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred around whether the agreement could be considered a low-average national wage case, as defined by the relevant legislation.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement could be classified as a low-average national wage case, as defined by section 235 of the Fair Work Act. To be approved as such, the agreement needed to demonstrate that it did not exceed the low-average national wage case threshold, which is calculated based on the national wage case test. This involved assessing whether the proposed wages and conditions in the agreement were consistent with the relevant low-average national wage case benchmarks.

The Commission found that the proposed agreement did not exceed the low-average national wage case threshold. It determined that the wages and conditions were consistent with the national wage case benchmarks and did not contain any provisions that would elevate the agreement to a higher wage case. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement as a low-average national wage case, ensuring that it complied with the legislative requirements under the Fair Work Act.

The Commission's final order was the approval of the 2019 Sebel Pty Ltd. Employee Enterprise Agreement as a low-average national wage case, effective from the date of the decision. This approval allows the agreement to proceed with the intended terms and conditions, subject to the compliance with the Fair Work Act and the specific criteria for low-average national wage cases.

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