DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Sweetmans Timber Pty Ltd and R.A. Sweetman and Son Pty Ltd T/A Sweetman’s Timber Pty Ltd
(AG2016/7917)

SWEETMANS TIMBER PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016

Timber and paper products industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 14 FEBRUARY 2017

Application for approval of the Sweetmans Timber Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Sweetmans Timber Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Sweetmans Timber Pty Ltd and R.A. Sweetman and Son Pty Ltd T/A Sweetman’s Timber Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] 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 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union 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.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 14 February 2017 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 21 February 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 October 2019.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicants, Sweetmans Timber Pty Ltd and R.A. Sweetman and Son Pty Ltd trading as Sweetman’s Timber Pty Ltd, sought approval of the Sweetmans Timber Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2016 from the Fair Work Commission. The agreement was entered into under section 175 of the Fair Work Act 2009, with the applicants seeking to finalise the terms and conditions of employment for their employees. The primary dispute centred on whether the agreement met the requirements for approval under the Act, particularly concerning the procedural fairness and the balance of rights and obligations for both employers and employees.

The legal issues before the court involved determining whether the process leading to the agreement's creation was fair and lawful and whether the terms of the agreement were in line with the principles of the Fair Work Act. Key points included assessing if the applicants had genuinely sought to negotiate with their employees, whether the employees had been adequately represented, and if the agreement provided a safety net of minimum entitlements for the employees.

The Fair Work Commission found that the process of negotiating the agreement was fair and that the terms of the agreement were balanced and met the requirements of the Act. The Commission concluded that the applicants had demonstrated a genuine attempt to negotiate and that the employees had been appropriately represented. The agreement was deemed to provide a safety net of minimum entitlements, thus meeting the criteria for approval under section 232 of the Fair Work Act.

As a result, the Fair Work Commission approved the Sweetmans Timber Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2016, confirming its validity and enforceability. The decision underscored the importance of procedural fairness and adequate representation in the negotiation and approval of enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act.

Sweetmans Timber Pty Ltd and R.A. Sweetman and Son Pty Ltd T/A Sweetman’s Timber Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established