Discussion
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) is one of the reputed national workplace relations tribunal located in Australia (Fwc.gov.au, 2017). The Commission is one of the independent bodies, which have the capability to carry a number of operations. It is engaged in the incorporation of good faith in the bargaining process with the organizations and making effective enterprise agreements. The regulatory bodies interact with a number of organizations and there is involvement of agreements. It is the duty of FWC to make meaningful agreements which would be beneficial for both the parties (Fwc.gov.au, 2017). The Commission is responsible for making necessary changes in the agreements. It is also the duty of the Commission to approve the pending agreements. This essay would discuss the different types of enterprise agreements and the particular terms that would be included in the agreement. There would be mention of the requirements of good bargaining process and the process of getting approvals for enterprise agreements. The role of Fair Work Commission in the above roles would be discussed in detail.
Discussion
An agreement can be defined as the terms as well as conditions which defines the employment between employees and the employers. There are usually two kinds of agreements such as “enterprise agreements” and “agreement based transitional instruments” (Sutherland, 2015). The transitional based instruments agreements comprise of the collective agreements as well as individual agreements. These kinds of agreements would include the collective agreements, collective agreements, workplace agreements, certified agreements and others.
The enterprise agreements comprise of the different types of individual as well as collective agreements that exist to denote the workplace relations. These kinds of agreements take place through the process of collective bargaining, which is done in good faith (James & Ombudsman, 2015). The enterprise agreements are done by negotiation through the process of enterprise bargaining. An enterprise refers to a kind of business entity which can be undertaking or project.
There can be variety of enterprise agreements, which are approved by the Fair Work Commission. (Wilson & Pender, 2015) There are two ways by which the Commission approves the enterprise agreements- either by agreement that is done between the employees and employer, or they can be approved by removing the uncertainty or ambiguity. The employer may give their request for endorsing the variation by voting them.
The enterprise agreements can include a wide variety of matters such as pay rates, employment conditions (including meal breaks, over time and hours of work), consultative mechanisms, dispute resolution rules and the deductions made from the wages (authorized by the employee) (Fwc.gov.au, 2017). The enterprise agreements are prepared for giving guarantee for minimum pay rates as well as various employment conditions (Fwc.gov.au, 2017).
There can be several forms of agreements, which are being approved by the Fair Work Commission. There can be Greenfields agreements, multi-enterprise agreements and single enterprise agreements (Ross, 2016). The single enterprise agreements would comprise of the agreements that are prepared between one employer and employees (who are employed at the time of agreement preparation). The single employers are usually considered as joint ventures or the common interest firms. The multi-enterprise agreements comprise of the agreement which is made between multiple employers and the employees (Bray & Stewart, 2013). The Greenfield agreements are prepared in relation to new organizational entity which is made before the employment of new staffs. The concerned parties of this kind of agreement involve the employer and one or several employee associations (such as trade unions) (Fwc.gov.au, 2017). All these kinds of agreements are being checked, evaluated, scrutinized and approved by the Fair Work Commission.
The Fair Work Commission engages in the preparation of the perfect enterprise agreements, which satisfies the legal framework of the country (Buchanan & Oliver, 2016). The Commission pays attention to the different important terms, which should be embedded in the agreements. There are certain mandatory elements that should be there in the enterprise agreements. These include the nominal expiry date, dispute settlement procedure, flexibility term and consultation term (Fwc.gov.au, 2017). There are several terms which can’t be included in the enterprise agreements. These terms include the discriminatory term, objectionable term, term related to unfair dismissal, industrial action provisions, right of entry entitlement and any term relating to State or Territory. The FWC engages in the review of the enterprise agreements and checks if there are any unlawful content in it (Fwc.gov.au, 2017). The approval of the agreements that contain unlawful content is prohibited by the Commission.
The FWC takes active role in the preparation of the agreements (Bray & Stewart, 2013). The Fair Work Act, 2009 provides flexible, simple and fair framework that helps the employees and the employers so that they can bargain in good faith (Fwc.gov.au, 2017). The employers, employees and the employee associations are engaged in the bargaining process through the enterprise agreements. The employer should inform the employees regarding their right to be denoted by one of the bargaining representative at the time of the enterprise agreements (these should not be more than 14 days) (Fwc.gov.au, 2017). The notification process should be given to the present employee, which is included in the enterprise agreement. The employer who would be involved in the Greenfield agreement should provide written notice to each of the employee organization. The notice should also include the commence date of the six-month negotiation. The bargaining representative should be a person who would be appointed by each of the parties engaged in the enterprise agreements (Fwc.gov.au, 2017). This person would represent the parties at the time of the bargaining process.
The FWC is engaged in reviewing and approving the enterprise agreements (Fwc.gov.au, 2017). This is done with the help of several steps that should be followed by the employer. The employers should ensure that there is seven-day time period before the process of voting for the various agreement (Fwc.gov.au, 2017)s. The employees are being given the agreement copy and all the necessary conditions are included in the enterprise agreements. The employer should inform the employees regarding the place and time of the voting process (Fwc.gov.au, 2017). It is also important to inform them about the voting process used. The employer should take every reasonable step so that the terms of the employment agreement are fulfilled. The employees should be made aware about the terms and conditions, which should be provided in an appropriate manner. The employees are required to endorse the agreement by taking part in the voting process.
The FWC has certain steps for approving the enterprise agreements. The applications are being evaluated by FWC, which should be lodged within 14 days of the preparation of the agreement (Fwc.gov.au, 2017). The FWC checks the application form and checks whether it has satisfied all the criteria or not. The agreement should be genuinely agreed by the employees who are being included in the agreement. In the case of the multi- enterprise agreements, the agreement should be actually agreed by all the employers. In this process, no person should be threatened to coerce or coerced so that the agreements are being made. The agreement meets the criteria of “Better Off Overall Test (BOOT)” (Fwc.gov.au, 2017). The agreement should be devoid of unlawful terms, which include terms concerning textile clothing or footwear outworkers.
There are several disputes which often concern the application of an agreement. All the agreements do consist of a clause that deals with the dispute resolution. The Fair Commission addresses to the disputes and it undertakes a combination of processes to determine the given fact (Fwc.gov.au, 2017). They will balance all the probabilities coming in the way of the agreements. The members of the Commission may engage in the gathering and collection of information in variety of ways in order to verify the credentials. They can summon a person in order to attend the commission. They can invite parties so that they can have written or spoken submissions (Fwc.gov.au, 2017). It may also be required to give document copies or give other relevant information to the Commission.
The Fair Work Commission has laid down strict rules that need to be ensured by the employers so that their agreement is approved. There are certain pre-approval steps that need to be taken by the employers, so that the approval process is gained. The employer should take all the reasonable steps so that the agreement is approved by the Fair Work Commission. The terms of the agreement as well as detailed explanation of the terms should be conveyed to the employees working in the organization (Fwc.gov.au, 2017). It is important to explain the details of the agreement with the employees. The details should be informed in an appropriate manner. It should be well explained to all the employees of the organization belonging from the culturally diverse background or employees who have joined new in the system. A majority of the employees who would be covered by the agreement (proposed) needs to approve the same by casting their votes for it. There are different norms for the different types of agreement namely single-enterprise, multi-enterprise and Greenfields. If the FWC approves the agreement, then it would issue a decision along with the approved agreement (Fwc.gov.au, 2017). The necessary agreements would be attached with it and one copy will be sent to all the involved parties.
Conclusion
The Fair Work Commission is one of the largest regulatory bodies that oversee a large amount of work. The employers and the employees are involved in a mutual relationship, which is governed by the laws of the Fair Work Commission. The different types of agreements are discussed such as collective agreements, collective agreements, workplace agreements, certified agreements. The enterprise agreements are inclusive of number of matters namely pay rates, consultative mechanisms, dispute resolution rules and employment conditions. There are generally different forms of agreement such as Greenfields agreements, multi-enterprise agreements and single enterprise agreements. The Fair Work Commission engages in the preparation of the perfect enterprise agreements, which satisfies the legal framework of the country. The agreements are prepared by taking into account a lot of factors. The Fair Work Commission engages in the preparation of the perfect enterprise agreements, which satisfies the legal framework of the country. There are several steps which govern the approval process of the agreements. The different types of disputes would also be discussed. The strict rules concerning approval process are also discussed.
References
Bray, M., & Stewart, A. (2013). From the arbitration system to the Fair Work Act: The changing approach in Australia to voice and representation at work. Adel. L. Rev., 34, 21.
Buchanan, J., & Oliver, D. (2016). ‘Fair Work’and the Modernization of Australian Labour Standards: A Case of Institutional Plasticity Entrenching Deepening Wage Inequality. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 54(4), 790-814.
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James, N. & Ombudsman, F.W., 2015. Commonwealth of Australia.
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