DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

The Friends' School Incorporated T/A The Friends' School
(AG2020/3937)

THE FRIENDS' SCHOOL (TEACHERS) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Educational services
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	SYDNEY, 20 JANUARY 2021

Application for approval of the The Friends' School (Teachers) Enterprise Agreement 2021.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the The Friends’ School (Teachers) Enterprise Agreement 2021 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by The Friends’ School Incorporated T/A The Friends’ School. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer 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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of 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 27 January 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2023.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Friends' School Incorporated, trading as The Friends' School, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the The Friends' School (Teachers) Enterprise Agreement 2021. The application involved a dispute concerning the terms and conditions of employment for teachers at the school, specifically focusing on the agreement's compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the enterprise agreement complied with the mandatory requirements set out in the Fair Work Act, including the need for the agreement to provide for minimum rates of pay, classification, and other conditions of employment that meet or exceed the relevant award or safety net. Additionally, the Commission needed to consider whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether it appropriately balanced the interests of both the employer and the employees.

The Commission found that the enterprise agreement met the necessary requirements and was made in good faith. It provided for minimum rates of pay, classification, and other conditions of employment that met or exceeded the relevant award or safety net provisions. The agreement also included provisions for consultation and dispute resolution mechanisms that were deemed fair and reasonable. The Commission concluded that the agreement appropriately balanced the interests of both the employer and the employees, and therefore approved the enterprise agreement. The final orders of the Commission included the approval of the The Friends' School (Teachers) Enterprise Agreement 2021, with the effective date set as the date of the Commission's decision.

The Friends' School Incorporated T/A The Friends' School

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established