Spc Staff Pty Ltd T/A Spc Staff Pty Limited

[2023] FWCA 315

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Spc Staff Pty Ltd T/A Spc Staff Pty Limited

(AG2022/5355)

SPC OPERATIONS SHEPPARTON (FOOD PRESERVERS) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2022

Food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing industry
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	MELBOURNE, 1 FEBRUARY 2023

Application for approval of the SPC Operations Shepparton (Food Preservers) Enterprise Agreement 2022

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the SPC Operations Shepparton (Food Preservers) Enterprise Agreement 2022 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Spc Staff Pty Ltd T/A Spc Staff Pty Limited. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings 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.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

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.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 8 February 2023. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2025.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Spc Staff Pty Ltd, trading as Spc Staff Pty Limited, sought approval of the SPC Operations Shepparton (Food Preservers) Enterprise Agreement 2022 from the Fair Work Commission. The application was made to ensure the agreement's provisions were consistent with the relevant industrial relations legislation. The primary dispute centred around the fairness and compliance of the agreement's terms with the applicable laws and standards set forth in the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues before the court included whether the agreement complied with the formal requirements for enterprise agreements, whether the agreement was free from prohibited content, and whether the agreement had been made in good faith and without coercion. Additionally, the court had to consider whether the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable process for resolving workplace disputes and whether it adequately protected employees' rights.

The court examined the evidence presented and found that the agreement met all formal requirements, contained no prohibited content, and was made in good faith. The court also determined that the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable process for resolving workplace disputes and adequately protected employees' rights. Based on these findings, the court approved the SPC Operations Shepparton (Food Preservers) Enterprise Agreement 2022.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established