DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Sydney English Language Centres
(AG2018/155)

SYDNEY ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTRES AUSTRALIA (TEACHERS) AGREEMENT 2017

Educational services
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	SYDNEY, 23 APRIL 2018

Application for approval of the Sydney English Language Centres Australia (Teachers) Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Sydney English Language Centres Australia (Teachers) 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 Sydney English Language Centres. 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] The Independent Education 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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 30 April 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Sydney English Language Centres applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Sydney English Language Centres Australia (Teachers) Agreement 2017. The application was made under section 232A of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Commission was required to consider whether the agreement should be approved, and if so, whether it should be approved with modifications. The applicants were represented by Mr S. Smith, while the respondents were represented by Mr J. Jones.

The main legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act. The agreement was to apply to teachers employed by Sydney English Language Centres and regulated under the Education Services Award 2010. The Commission had to consider whether the agreement provided for a fair and efficient workplace, and whether it met the "better off overall test". The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement contained provisions that were outside the scope of the relevant award, and whether it contained provisions that were inconsistent with the Fair Work Act.

The Commission found that the agreement provided for a fair and efficient workplace and met the "better off overall test". The agreement contained provisions that were within the scope of the relevant award, and did not contain any provisions that were inconsistent with the Fair Work Act. However, the Commission identified some minor issues with the agreement, such as the use of certain terminology. The Commission made some minor modifications to the agreement to address these issues, and approved the agreement with modifications. The Commission considered that the modifications did not detract from the overall fairness of the agreement, and that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and employers.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Sydney English Language Centres Australia (Teachers) Agreement 2017, with modifications. The modifications related to the use of certain terminology in the agreement. The Commission considered that the modifications did not detract from the overall fairness of the agreement, and that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and employers. The Commission approved the agreement with the modifications, and it is now a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act.

Sydney English Language Centres

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established