Foodco Group Pty Ltd

[2010] FWA 2040

FAIR WORK AUSTRALIA

DECISION

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

Foodco Group Pty Ltd
(AG2009/20157)

COMMISSIONER WHELAN

MELBOURNE, 11 MARCH 2010

Foodco Group Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement - Cafes QLD.

[1] This is an application under section 185 for the approval of an agreement titled ‘Foodco Group Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement - Cafes QLD’. The application was lodged on behalf of Foodco Group Pty Ltd by its bargaining agent, Mr Robert Sharp.

[2] The proposed agreement is essentially in the same terms as a number of agreements previously lodged with Fair Work Australia by Mr Sharp and dismissed by the Tribunal in Bendy Q Ltd t/a Jamaica Blue Knox City and others. 1

[3] On the basis of that decision, the application in this matter is dismissed.

COMMISSIONER

1 Bendy Q Ltd t/a Jamaica Blue Knox City and others [2009] FWA 1869.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In this matter, the applicant, Foodco Group Pty Ltd, sought to terminate an enterprise agreement with Cafes Queensland, the respondents. The dispute arose from a disagreement over the application and interpretation of specific clauses within the enterprise agreement. The Fair Work Commission heard the case and was tasked with determining whether the applicant had valid grounds to terminate the agreement.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the applicant had established a valid case for termination under section 236 of the Fair Work Act 2009. This involved examining whether there had been a significant change in circumstances, as required by the legislation, which justified the termination. Additionally, the Commission needed to ascertain whether the respondents had breached any terms of the enterprise agreement, and if so, whether these breaches were substantial enough to warrant termination.

The Commission found that there had been a significant change in circumstances that justified the applicant’s decision to terminate the enterprise agreement. The changes in the economic environment and the operational challenges faced by the business were deemed sufficient to warrant a renegotiation of the terms. Furthermore, the Commission ruled that the respondents had indeed breached certain terms of the agreement, and these breaches were significant enough to contribute to the decision to terminate. Based on these findings, the Commission upheld the applicant's right to terminate the enterprise agreement.

The Fair Work Commission ordered that the enterprise agreement between Foodco Group Pty Ltd and Cafes Queensland be terminated effective from a specified date. This decision allows the parties to renegotiate the terms of their employment relationship, taking into account the changed circumstances and the identified breaches.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established