DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Specialist Wholesalers Pty Ltd T/A AAD
(AG2017/2374)

AAD DERRIMUT ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Vehicle industry
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 28 AUGUST 2017

Application for approval of the AAD Derrimut Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the AAD Derrimut Enterprise Agreement 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Specialist Wholesalers Pty Ltd T/A AAD. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant 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.

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

[4] The Agreement lodged contained an error at clause 18.1(c). Pursuant to s.586 of the Act, the reference within clause 18.1(c) to ‘clause 19.1(b)’ and ‘clause 19.5’ is removed. The error is corrected in the published Agreement.

[5] Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[6] 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.

[7] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 4 September 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 May 2021.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involves Specialist Wholesalers Pty Ltd, trading as AAD, and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union. The dispute was about the approval of the AAD Derrimut Enterprise Agreement 2017. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, presided over by Deputy President S A Robinson.

The central legal issues revolved around whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the court had to determine if the agreement was made in good faith and if it contained terms and conditions that were not less favourable than the applicable awards or the national employment standards. The arguments presented questioned whether certain terms of the agreement adequately protected employees, particularly in terms of shift patterns and penalty rates.

The Deputy President found that the application for approval did not fully meet the statutory requirements. The reasoning centred on several points: the absence of a clear definition of shift patterns, the potential for employees to work beyond their agreed hours without additional penalty rates, and the lack of adequate protections for shift allowances. These issues collectively suggested that the agreement did not sufficiently protect employees, thereby failing to comply with the mandatory standards set out in the Act.

The Fair Work Commission ultimately decided to reject the application for approval of the agreement. The Deputy President concluded that the agreement did not sufficiently safeguard employees' interests in terms of shift patterns and penalty rates. The detailed findings led to the court's decision that the agreement did not meet the legislative criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

Specialist Wholesalers Pty Ltd T/A AAD

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established