DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association
(AG2020/4036)

DRAKES SUPERMARKETS RETAIL AGREEMENT 2020

Retail industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 8 FEBRUARY 2021

Application for approval of the Drakes Supermarkets Retail Agreement 2020.

[1] The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Drakes Supermarkets Retail Agreement 2020 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The employer has provided written undertakings, a copy of which is attached in Annexure A. 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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declaration, I am satisfied that each of the relevant requirements of ss 186, 187, 188 and 190 has been met.

[4] The SDA, 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.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 8 February 2021 and will operate from 15 February 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 8 February 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association applied for the approval of the Drakes Supermarkets Retail Agreement 2020. The respondent, Drakes Supermarkets, did not oppose the application. The application was heard in the Fair Work Commission. The central issue before the court was whether the terms of the Drakes Supermarkets Retail Agreement 2020 were fair and reasonable in all respects. Given the absence of opposition from Drakes Supermarkets, the court found that the agreement's terms appeared to be fair and reasonable. The court considered the potential impact of the agreement on employees, including its provisions on wages, conditions of employment, and dispute resolution mechanisms. The court concluded that the agreement was likely to provide fair and reasonable outcomes for employees. The Fair Work Commission approved the Drakes Supermarkets Retail Agreement 2020. The court's decision was based on the absence of opposition and the apparent fairness of the agreement's terms. The approval of the agreement was deemed to be in the interests of promoting conciliation, arbitration, and agreement in industrial disputes.

Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established