Victor Medical Centre

[2014] FWCA 6015

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Victor Medical Centre
(AG2014/1937)

VICTOR MEDICAL CENTRE HEALTH PROFESSIONALS AND SUPPORT SERVICES EMPLOYEES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER HAMPTON	ADELAIDE, 2 SEPTEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Victor Medical Centre Health Professionals and Support Services Employees Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Victor Medical Centre Health Professionals and Support Services Employees Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Victor Medical Centre. The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] On 18 August 2014, I conducted a telephone conference of the parties to seek clarification about aspects of the Agreement.

[3] The employer subsequently provided further clarification of the parties’ intentions and proposed formal written undertakings which are appended to the Agreement as approved.

[4] I have sought the view of the bargaining representative and accepted the undertakings pursuant to s.190 of the Act. As a result, the undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[6] In so finding, I note that the employer’s declaration indicated that the information regarding the ballot of employees was not provided to the employees at least 7 clear days before the commencement of the ballot. On face value, it appeared that the relevant 7 day access period requirements of s.180(3) and (4) of the Act had not been met in this case. Subsequent information provided to the Commission has confirmed that the information required by s.180(3) was given to the employees well in advance of the commencement of the access period.

[7] As the Agreement does not contain a consultation term which meets the requirements of s.205(1A) of the Act, the model consultation term is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[8] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 9 September 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2017.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case before the court involved an application for the approval of the Victor Medical Centre Health Professionals and Support Services Employees Enterprise Agreement 2014. The applicant, Victor Medical Centre, sought the court's approval of the agreement, which had been negotiated between the medical centre and the health professionals and support services employees. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the legal requirements for enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues before the court included whether the agreement contained all the mandatory terms required by section 232 of the Act, whether the agreement had been made in good faith and whether the agreement was an enterprise agreement as defined in the Act. The court also had to consider whether the agreement had been negotiated genuinely and whether it complied with the provisions of the Act concerning the coverage of the agreement and the manner in which it was made.

The court found that the agreement contained all the mandatory terms required by the Act and was made in good faith. The court was satisfied that the agreement was an enterprise agreement within the meaning of the Act and had been negotiated genuinely. The court also determined that the agreement complied with the provisions of the Act concerning the coverage of the agreement and the manner in which it was made. The court approved the agreement on the basis that it met all the requirements of the Act.

The court's approval of the agreement means that it will now be binding on the parties and will regulate the terms and conditions of employment of the health professionals and support services employees at the Victor Medical Centre. The agreement sets out the terms and conditions of employment for the employees covered by the agreement, including their wages and other entitlements. The approval of the agreement is an important step in ensuring that the employees at the Victor Medical Centre have a fair and reasonable enterprise agreement that meets their needs and provides them with the protections they require under the law.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established