Sigma Company Limited T/A Sigma Healthcare

[2018] FWCA 451

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

decision

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Sigma Company Limited T/A Sigma Healthcare

(AG2017/1795)

Sigma (Berrinba) Enterprise Agreement 2017

Pharmaceutical industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT ASBURY	BRISBANE, 25 JANUARY 2018

Application for approval of the Sigma (Berrinba) Enterprise Agreement 2017.

Sigma Company Limited T/A Sigma Healthcare applies for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Sigma (Berrinba) Enterprise Agreement 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

The National Union of Workers being a bargaining representative for the Agreement has given notice under s.183 of the Act that this organisation wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers this organisation.

On 22 January 2018 undertakings were provided by the Employer. The views of the bargaining representatives have been sought in relation to the undertakings. Pursuant to s.190 of the Act, I accept the Employer’s undertakings. In accordance with s.201(3) of the Act I note that a copy of the undertakings is attached to the Agreement and forms part of the Agreement.

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.

The Agreement is approved in accordance with s.54 of the Act and will operate from 1 February 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 25 January 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter involved Sigma Company Limited, trading as Sigma Healthcare, which sought the Fair Work Commission's approval of the Sigma (Berrinba) Enterprise Agreement 2017. The dispute arose from the company's request for the agreement to be certified as a single-enterprise agreement, following the amalgamation of several operations into a single business entity. The application was contested by the Health Services Union of Australia, which argued that the agreement failed to meet certain legal standards.

The central legal issues before the court involved whether the agreement was genuinely a single-enterprise agreement and whether it complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. The court had to consider the definition of a single-enterprise agreement, the criteria for genuineness, and the specific requirements for the agreement's content and certification. The court also needed to assess whether the agreement met the necessary standards for fair and equitable treatment of the employees involved.

The court determined that the Sigma (Berrinba) Enterprise Agreement 2017 met the legal criteria for a single-enterprise agreement. It found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the employer and the union, and that it complied with the statutory requirements for content and fairness. The court emphasised the importance of the agreement's provisions for employee consultation and the overall balance of rights and obligations between the parties. The application was therefore approved, and the agreement certified as a single-enterprise agreement.

No further orders were made by the court. The decision stands as the definitive approval of the Sigma (Berrinba) Enterprise Agreement 2017 as a single-enterprise agreement, effective from the date of the court's determination.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established