FAIR WORK COMMISSIONS
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Running head: FAIR WORK COMMISSIONS
Fair Work Commissions
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Author’s Note:
Title: ‘The role of the Fair Work Commission in the making and approving of agreements’
The Fair Work Commission has a significant role in making and approving the enterprise agreements between the employees and the employers. The study builds the base of understanding the Fair Work Commissions and Fair Work Act initially and evaluates its significance in approving the enterprise agreements. In this context, it should be mentioned that the Fair Work Commission is a tribunal for industrial relations in Australia (Fair Work Commission 2017). The Fair Work Act 2009 created the commission and it reformed the industrial relations of that country. The prime concern of the Fair Work Commission is to deal with the minimum wage rate, employee turnover, bargaining and other industrial actions (Fair Work Commission 2017). Through implementing the legal system set out in the Fair Work Act, the employers build up their industrial relation legally. Healy and Kidd (2013) mentioned that the Fair Work Commission is bound to carry out the responsibilities set out by the Australian Fair Pay Commission and Workplace Authority. As a part of Rudd Government, the Fair Work Act 2009 regulates all the workplace relations. Most importantly, the safety net of the minimum wage of employees is ensured by the respective law.
The organizational provisions are operated actively by the power and authority of Fair Work Commission of Australia (Fair Work Commission 2017). Recently, the minimum wage of the employees of the Australian employees was increased by 2.4% by the Fair Work Commission in 2016 (Fair Work Commission 2017). To be more precise, the new wage rate is $672.70 per week and $17.70 per hour (Fair Work Commission 2017). The pay rate would be applied to the employees who receive remuneration from a registered agreement or national minimum wage. Rafferty and Yu (2010) stated that under the legal system of Fair Work Commission, the rights of bargaining are given to the national system employers only. In this context, it should be mentioned that the national system employers are the ones whose business is considered under the national workplace relation laws. The national system employers are considered under the Fair Work Commission based on the location of the employment relationship and the legal status of the business. The increase in the minimum wage would be applied to the employees whose wage rate is below the mentioned wage rate of Fair Work Commission.
The enterprise agreement is the document where clear description and details are present regarding the work system. As per the statement of Skinner and Pocock (2011), some permitted matters along with the terms and conditions are included in the in the enterprise agreement sets by the Fai Work Commission. It sets out the wage along with other employment details for a period up to 4 years. The main two of enterprise agreements include the Multi-enterprise Agreement and Single Enterprise agreement. In a case, if two or more employees are involved in a joint venture, they would be called as single enterprise agreement. On the other way, if the employers are not eligible for the single enterprise agreement, they can apply for multi-enterprise agreement.
As opined by Wilson and Spies‐Butcher (2011), the employers are bound to follow a specific process which is set out by the Fair Work Commission. Failing in following the process would not let the application of agreement pass from the Fair Work Commission.
The process of making and approving an enterprise agreement is demonstrated in the below figure:
Figure 1: Process of making and approving an enterprise agreement
(Source: French et al. 2014)
Through the above chart, French et al. (2014) discussed how the employers follow the legal process of making and approving an enterprise agreement. In the agreement making process, the employers provide notice to the employees by including the representational rights. Once the employees agree with the rights, the employers can apply the bargaining process with the employees. Layton et al. (2013) added in this context that the employers make and approve the enterprise agreement by based on some steps:
Voting: The voting system is imposed when the employers find that the agreement and its proposed conditions are reliable for make agreement with the employees or the other representatives of the negotiation. The voting system helps the employers to make the decision of bargaining. The employees who are eligible for the vote must be aware of the terms and conditions of the Fair Work Act.
Involvement of employees: In this context, Linke and Babidge (2014) stated that the employers should consider all the process before starting the bargaining process. They should receive a hard copy of accepting an agreement from the employees who are covered by the agreement of Fair Work Commission. Along with that, the employers should ensure that the employees can access the notice of representational rights.
A Proper explanation of the terms of the agreement: Wilson and Spies‐Butcher (2011) opined that this phase takes place after the voting and processing system which is done with the employees. Afterward, the employers send their application to the Fair Work Commission in order to receive the enterprise agreement which would bind the employers and the employees by a legal system. Before applying to the Fair Work Commission, the employers should ensure that the application contains all the documents based on which the Fair Work Commission would approve the agreement. Besides, based on different circumstances and industrial issues, the employers need to notify the Fair Work Commission about the agreement (Layton et al. 2013).
On the other way, Healy and Kidd (2013) discussed the steps of making and approving the enterprise agreement by the Fair Work Commission. In is mentioned that the employers who are covered by the agreement of the Fair Work Commission would be allowed to apply for both single enterprise agreement and multi-enterprise agreement. Rafferty and Yu (2010) shared different information that the other representatives of bargaining are also allowed to lodge an application to the Fair Work Commission. Besides, the employers should be aware of the time frame of making and approving the enterprise agreement. The employers should lodge the application within days of bargaining. In this context, Layton et al. (2013) added that the Fair Work Commission has the rights of extending the time frame in particular circumstances when they feel that they need to extend it. Within these 14 days, the employers can lodge the application at any time, even immediate after the bargaining process. Linke and Babidge (2014) stated that the employers should apply with a signed copy of application and agreement of the employees. This would ensure that both the employees and the employers agree to certain terms and conditions. The employees can apply for any of the single enterprise agreement and the multi-enterprise agreement, but it should consist of a Form F16. In order to make the application in a proper format, the employers should include the contact details of all the representatives present at the bargaining time. Healy and Kidd (2013) argued that the employers should also include the personal details of the employers and the employees in the application. Besides, other details should be present in the agreement such as the scope of the business, roles of the employers and employees, targets and much more. Along with that, the employers must include that whether they lodged any similar agreement before or not. The unethical or wrong information would not pass the agreement that the employees lodged for.
It can be concluded that the Fair Work Commission implements the legal system with Fair Work Act to establish the industrial relation in Australia. This law ensures the safety net of the minimum wage of employees. It has been found that the Fair Work Commission increased the minimum wage of the employees recently. The national system employers are allowed only for applying the bargaining process and enterprise agreement. The Fair Work Commission acknowledge the application and approve the agreement by based on the location of employment relationship along with the legal status. The study discusses the two enterprise agreements that include the Multi-enterprise Agreement and Single Enterprise agreement. Furthermore, the study concludes that the employers follow some specific steps to receive the approval of the agreement. The employees receive notice of representational rights from the employers, and the notice should be accessible. The study also found out that voting system has a major significance in the bargaining process. The employers consider this process when they find that the agreement is fair to make an enterprise agreement with the other bargaining representative. After the initial process, the application is lodged by the employers to the Fair Work Commission. Besides, there is a certain time frame that the employers should maintain in making and approving the enterprise agreement from the Fair Work Commission. Moreover, it has been found that the employers should complete all the documentation before sending it to the Fair Work Commissions. The Commission approves the agreement they believe meets all criteria properly.
Reference List
Fair Work Commission. 2017. Fair Work Commission | Australia’s national workplace relations tribunal. [online] Available at: http://www.fwc.gov.au [Accessed 3 Apr. 2017].
French, B., Boyle, M.V. and Muurlink, O., 2014. Workplace Bullying in Australia: The Fair Work Act and its impact. New Zealand Journal of Human Resources Management, 14(2).
Healy, J. and Kidd, M.P., 2013. Gender-based undervaluation and the equal remuneration powers of Fair Work Australia. Journal of Industrial Relations, 55(5), pp.760-782.
Layton, R., Smith, M., and Stewart, A., 2013. Equal Remuneration Under the Fair Work Act 2009.
Linke, N. and Babidge, S., 2014. The new anti-bullying jurisdiction of the fair work commission. Bulletin (Law Society of South Australia), 36(10), p.8.
Rafferty, M. and Yu, S., 2010. Shifting risk: work and working life in Australia: a report for the Australian Council of Trade Unions. University of Sydney, Workplace Research Centre
Skinner, N. and Pocock, B., 2011. Flexibility and work-life interference in Australia. Journal of Industrial Relations, 53(1), pp.65-82.
Wilson, S. and Spies‐Butcher, B., 2011. When labour makes a difference: union mobilization and the 2007 federal election in Australia. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 49(s2).