Stokes (Australasia) Ltd

[2015] FWC 4189

[2015] FWC 4189

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Stokes (Australasia) Ltd
(AG2015/1329)

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 22 JUNE 2015

Application for approval of the AMWU & Stokes Limited Agreement 2015-2018.

[1] This decision concerns an application made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the AMWU & Stokes Limited Agreement 2015-2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Stokes (Australasia) Ltd.

[2] Attached to the application for approval of the Agreement was the Notice of Employee Representational Rights (the Notice). The Notice was provided to the employees to be covered by the proposed Agreement, as required by s.173 of the Act. Section 174 of the Act prescribes the required content and form of the Notice:

"174 Content and form of notice of employee representational rights

Application of this section

(1) This section applies if an employer that will be covered by a proposed enterprise agreement is required to give a notice under subsection 173(1) to an employee.

Notice requirements

(1A) The notice must:

(a) contain the content prescribed by the regulations; and

(b) not contain any other content; and

(c) be in the form prescribed by the regulations."

[3] The Notice is inconsistent with s.174(1A)(a) of the Act in that it is not in the form prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 as it did not contain the telephone number of the Fair Work Commission Infoline.

[4] As the requirements of s.174(1A)(a) have not been complied with, I cannot be satisfied that employees have genuinely agreed to the enterprise agreement.

[5] The application for approval of the Agreement is therefore dismissed.

COMMISSIONER

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<Price code A, PR568588>