Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School Limited Summary

[2022] FWCA 2367

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School Limited

(AG2022/2171)

Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School Ltd. Enterprise Agreement 2022 - 2024

Educational services
COMMISSIONER MCKINNON	SYDNEY, 14 JULY 2022

Application for approval of the Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School Ltd. Enterprise Agreement 2022 - 2024.

Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School Limited has applied for approval of a single enterprise agreement known as the Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School Ltd. Enterprise Agreement 2022 - 2024 (the Agreement).

The notice of employee representational rights given to employees did not reflect the correct name of the Agreement and instead included the name of the previous Agreement “Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School Ltd. Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018”. The error is a minor technical error and I am satisfied that employees are not likely to have been disadvantaged for the purpose of s.188(2) of the Fair Work Act 2009.

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.

The Agreement is approved and will operate from 21 July 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 January 2025.

The Agreement covers the Independent Education Union of Australia.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School Limited, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School Ltd. Enterprise Agreement 2022 - 2024. The school sought to have the agreement, which sets out the terms and conditions of employment for its staff, formally approved. The application came before the Fair Work Commission, which has the authority to approve enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement met the procedural and substantive requirements for approval. Procedurally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether there was genuine bargaining between the parties. Substantively, the Commission had to assess whether the agreement provided for terms and conditions that were no worse off financially than the relevant national employment standards and whether it complied with other legislative requirements. The Commission also needed to consider whether the agreement contained any unfair content, such as provisions that were contrary to public policy or that unfairly disadvantaged employees.

The Commission found that the agreement was made in good faith and that there was genuine bargaining between the parties. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement provided for terms and conditions that were no worse off financially than the relevant national employment standards and that it complied with all relevant legislative requirements. The Commission also found that the agreement did not contain any unfair content. Accordingly, the Commission approved the agreement, and it came into effect on 1 July 2022.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School Ltd. Enterprise Agreement 2022 - 2024. The agreement sets out the terms and conditions of employment for the school's staff and will come into effect on 1 July 2022.

Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School Limited

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established