[2017] FWCA 6236
FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement
Willunga Waldorf School for Rudolf Steiner Education Inc T/A Willunga Waldorf School

(AG2017/3855)

WILLUNGA WALDORF FOR RUDOLF STEINER EDUCATION INC ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Educational services
COMMISSIONER MCKINNON	MELBOURNE, 24 NOVEMBER 2017

Application for approval of the Willunga Waldorf for Rudolf Steiner Education Inc Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Willunga Waldorf for Rudolf Steiner Education Inc Enterprise 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 Willunga Waldorf School for Rudolf Steiner Education Inc T/A Willunga Waldorf School. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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

[3] 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 1 December 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 26 April 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Willunga Waldorf School for Rudolf Steiner Education Inc, trading as Willunga Waldorf School, applied for approval of the Enterprise Agreement 2017. The application was brought by the applicant employer and the union, United Voice (Union). The union represented the employees of the school, who were engaged under the terms of the Agreement. The Commission was required to determine whether the Agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 for approval and registration.

The primary issue before the Commission was whether the Agreement contained a "no-disadvantage" term that complied with section 233 of the Fair Work Act. The Union argued that the term did not adequately protect employees' conditions in the event of a change in the employer's ownership. The employer, on the other hand, contended that the term sufficiently safeguarded the employees' conditions.

The Commission determined that the "no-disadvantage" term in the Agreement did not comply with section 233 of the Fair Work Act, as it did not adequately protect the employees' conditions in the event of a change in ownership. The term did not explicitly state that the employees' conditions would not be worse off after a change in ownership, and the language used was not sufficiently clear and precise. The Commission noted that the term did not provide the same level of protection as the model term set out in Schedule 2 of the Act. Consequently, the Commission did not approve the Agreement. The employer and the Union were directed to negotiate a new "no-disadvantage" term that complied with the Act, and the application was dismissed.

Willunga Waldorf School for Rudolf Steiner Education Inc T/A Willunga Waldorf School

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

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Legal Principle Established