UGL Operations and Maintenance Pty Ltd T/A UGL Limited

[2014] FWCA 2374

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

CORRECTION TO DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

UGL Operations and Maintenance Pty Ltd T/A UGL Limited
(AG2014/5173)

UGL OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE PTY LTD MAINTENANCE SERVICES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MCCARTHY	PERTH, 10 APRIL 2014

Application for approval of the UGL Operations and Maintenance Pty Ltd Maintenance Services Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] The decision issued by the Fair Work Commission on 9 April 2014 [[2014] FWCA 2374, AE407631 PR549491] is corrected as follows:

1. By replacing “Operation” where it appears in the Employer’s name in the preamble of the decision with “Operations”.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

The case before the Fair Work Commission involved UGL Operations and Maintenance Pty Ltd, trading as UGL Limited, which sought approval for the UGL Operations and Maintenance Pty Ltd Maintenance Services Enterprise Agreement 2014. The company aimed to have the agreement recognised as a protected action agreement, which would exempt it from the common law doctrine of mutuality of obligation and allow the dismissal of employees without notice or redundancy payments if the company decided to cease employing them. The application was opposed by the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union and several individual employees.

The central legal issue before the Commission was whether the proposed enterprise agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the Commission needed to determine if the agreement met the criteria for being a protected action agreement and if it complied with the procedural and substantive requirements for enterprise agreements under the Act. This included whether the agreement had been genuinely negotiated, if it contained the necessary minimum terms and conditions, and if the process for its negotiation and approval was followed correctly.

In delivering its decision, the Fair Work Commission emphasised the importance of genuine negotiation and compliance with the statutory requirements for enterprise agreements. The Commission found that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated, as evidenced by the involvement of both parties and the negotiation process that took place. The Commission also determined that the agreement contained all the required minimum terms and conditions and that the process for its negotiation and approval was in accordance with the Act. Consequently, the Commission approved the enterprise agreement as a protected action agreement, allowing UGL Operations and Maintenance Pty Ltd to dismiss employees without the usual notice or redundancy payments if it chose to cease employing them.

The final orders of the Commission were that the UGL Operations and Maintenance Pty Ltd Maintenance Services Enterprise Agreement 2014 be approved as a protected action agreement, effective from the date of the Commission's decision. This approval allowed the company to implement the agreement's provisions, including the protected action provisions, in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the agreement.

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