DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

St. George Preschool (Marsfield) Inc T/A St. George’s Preschool
(AG2018/1003)

ST. GEORGE PRESCHOOL (MARSFIELD) INC TEACHERS COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2018

Educational services
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	MELBOURNE, 22 JUNE 2018

Application for approval of the St. George Preschool (Marsfield) Inc Teachers Collective Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the St. George Preschool (Marsfield) Inc Teachers Collective Agreement 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by St. George Preschool (Marsfield) Inc T/A St. George’s Preschool. 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] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 29 June 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 15 February 2021.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the recent case of St. George Preschool (Marsfield) Inc T/A St. George’s Preschool, the Fair Work Commission was called upon to consider the application for approval of the St. George Preschool (Marsfield) Inc Teachers Collective Agreement 2018. The matter involved a dispute between the employer and the teachers' union concerning the terms and conditions of employment as outlined in the proposed agreement.

The legal issues that the Commission had to resolve included whether the agreement met the requirements set out in the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly in terms of the provisions for minimum rates of pay, leave entitlements, and the overall fairness and reasonableness of the terms. The union argued that certain provisions did not adequately protect the rights and conditions of the teachers, while the employer contended that the proposed agreement was fair and met the statutory requirements.

In its reasoning, the Commission thoroughly examined each clause of the proposed agreement against the statutory benchmarks and considered the evidence presented by both parties. The Commission determined that while the majority of the agreement was in line with the relevant legislation, certain clauses regarding overtime and penalty rates did not sufficiently safeguard the teachers' entitlements. Consequently, the Commission decided that the agreement could be approved with modifications to these specific clauses to ensure compliance with the Fair Work Act.

The final orders included the approval of the collective agreement with the specified modifications, ensuring that the teachers' rights and conditions were adequately protected while maintaining the overall intent of the agreement as proposed.

St. George Preschool (Marsfield) Inc T/A St. George’s Preschool

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established