West Lakes Golf Club Incorporated

[2019] FWCA 8693

[2019] FWCA 8693

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

West Lakes Golf Club Incorporated
(AG2019/4738)

WEST LAKES GOLF CLUB ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Licensed and registered clubs
COMMISSIONER PLATT	ADELAIDE, 23 DECEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the West Lakes Golf Club Enterprise Agreement 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the West Lakes Golf Club Enterprise Agreement 2019 (the Agreement) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by West Lakes Golf Incorporated. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The matter was allocated to my Chambers on 17 December 2019.

[3] On 20 December 2019, I conducted a telephone conference with the parties to seek clarification about aspects of the Agreement and invited the Applicant to address these matters including through the provision of an undertaking.

[4] The Applicant has submitted an undertaking in the required form dated 20 December 2019. The undertaking deals with the following topics:

•  The Applicant has inserted a National Employment Standards (NES) precedence clause.

•  The operative date will be seven days from the date of approval.

•  A shiftworker means a seven day shiftworker who is regularly rostered to work on Sundays and public holidays, and includes a club manager, this definition is also for the purposes of the NES.

•  If an employee fails to give notice, the employer can deduct from monies owing to the employee an amount equal to the wages the employee would have earned had the required notice been given less for notice actually given.

•  Apprentices are entitled to notice in accordance with the NES.

•  The sentence ‘Severance payment must not exceed the amount the employee would have earned if employment proceeded to the employee’s agreed date of retirement or the employee's eligibility date for social security benefits’ is deleted.

•  As per s.114 of the Act, employees are entitled to be absent on a public holiday and employers may reasonably request employees work.

•  Annual leave will accrue progressively according to an employee’s ordinary hours of work.

•  Any annual leave accrued but not taken will be paid out on termination of employment based on the ordinary rate of pay plus annual leave loading.

•  If another period of leave under the NES, other than unpaid parental or community service leave applied, the employee is taken not to be on annual leave for that period.

•  An employee may use up their sick leave entitlement to provide care and support for a member of the employee’s immediate family or household member who is ill provided that satisfactory evidence of the illness of the family member or household member is made available on request of the employer. An application to use accumulated sick leave for the purpose of carer's leave may be approved by the employer provided there is such accumulated sick leave to be used for this purpose.

•  Employees are entitled to two days paid compassionate leave per occasion associated with an injury, illness or death of a member of the employee’s immediate family or household members. Employees taking paid compassionate leave agree to provide the employer with evidence of the illness, injury or death that the employer might reasonably require for the purpose of personal leave.

[5] A copy of the undertaking has been provided to the bargaining representative and I have sought their views in accordance with s.190(4) of the Act. The bargaining representative supported the undertaking.

[6] The undertaking appears to meet the requirements of s.190(3) of the Act and I have accepted it. As a result, the undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

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

[8] The Australian Workers’ 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) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[9] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[10] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 7 days from the date of approval of the Agreement. The nominal expiry date is 15 November 2021.

COMMISSIONER

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