DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

St John of God Health Care Inc T/A St John of God Health Care
(AG2017/4949)

THE ST JOHN OF GOD HEALTH CARE (VICTORIAN HOSPITALS) HEALTH AND ALLIED SERVICES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Health and welfare services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 26 MARCH 2018

Application for approval of the St John of God Health Care (Victorian Hospitals) Health and Allied Services Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the St John of God Health Care (Victorian Hospitals) Health and Allied Services 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 St John of God Health Care Inc T/A St John of God Health Care. 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, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, 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 Health Services Union of Australia 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) and based on the statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 26 March 2018 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 2 April 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

St John of God Health Care Inc T/A St John of God Health Care applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the St John of God Health Care (Victorian Hospitals) Health and Allied Services Enterprise Agreement 2017. The applicant is an employer in the hospital and health services industry, and the dispute concerns the terms and conditions of employment for certain employees within that industry. The Fair Work Commission is the body with jurisdiction to approve enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act, including whether it provided for minimum rates of pay, included appropriate dispute resolution processes, and did not discriminate against any class of employee. Additionally, the Commission needed to consider whether the agreement had been made in good faith and whether it had been properly certified by the Independent Staff Council.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was compliant with the Fair Work Act. The Commission determined that the agreement provided for adequate minimum rates of pay, incorporated appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms, and did not discriminate against any class of employee. The Commission also found that the agreement had been made in good faith and that it had been properly certified. Therefore, the application for approval was successful.

The Fair Work Commission approved the St John of God Health Care (Victorian Hospitals) Health and Allied Services Enterprise Agreement 2017, effective from the date of the Commission's decision. The agreement is to be registered with the Fair Work Ombudsman and will apply to the employees covered by the agreement.

St John of God Health Care Inc T/A St John of God Health Care

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established