Solenis Australia Pty Ltd

[2021] FWCA 6258

[2021] FWCA 6258

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Solenis Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2021/7623)

SOLENIS AUSTRALIA LTD (KWINANA) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER CIRKOVIC	MELBOURNE, 13 OCTOBER 2021

Application for approval of the Solenis Australia Ltd (Kwinana) Enterprise Agreement 2021.

[1] Solenis Australia Pty Ltd (the Applicant) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Solenis Australia Ltd (Kwinana) Enterprise Agreement 2021 (the Agreement) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The matter was allocated to my Chambers on 5 October 2021.

[3] On 5 October 2021, my Chambers sent correspondence to the parties seeking to address concerns with certain aspects of the Agreement and invited the parties to address these matters. The concerns were as follows:

•  Additional materials were sought regarding Agreement pre-approval requirements, specifically notice emails sent to employees and emails containing agreement support materials.

•  The definition of shiftworker contained at clause 3 of the Agreement and referred to clause 30.1 was inconsistent with NES shiftworker definition at clause 34.2 of the Award.

•  Clauses 19.11 regarding withholding NES entitlements, 14.2 regarding maximum weekly hours of work, 14.10 and 14.8 regarding carers’ leave and clauses 15.3 and 19.8 regarding notice of termination were inconsistent with the National Employment Standards (NES) however the NES precedence term at clause 7.6 is deemed to resolve the above NES inconsistencies identified in the Agreement.

•  Better of overall concerns were raised regarding the minimum engagement entitlement for casual employees.

[4] The Applicant has submitted an undertaking in the required form dated 7 October 2021. The undertaking deals with the following topics:

•  The definition of a shift worker will be for the purposes of the National Employment Standards (NES).

•  The Employer gave an undertaking that on each occasion that a casual employee is required to attend work, the employee must be paid for a minimum of 4 consecutive hours’ work. In order to meet their personal circumstances a casual Employee may request, and the Employer may agree, to an engagement for no less than 3 consecutive hours.

[5] A copy of the undertaking has been provided to the bargaining representatives and I have sought their views in accordance with s.190(4) of the Act. The bargaining representatives did not express any view on the undertaking.

[6] The undertaking appears to meet the requirements of s.190(3) of the Act and I have accepted it. As a result, the undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[7] 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) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[8] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[9] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 7 days after the date of approval of the Agreement. The nominal expiry date is 1 August 2024.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

<AE513498  PR734844>