Key Points:
Employers entering negotiations for a new enterprise
agreement must provide a notice of employee representation to
employees within 14 days of the notification time.
Making an enterprise agreement can be a drawn-out process, as
you and your workforce attempt to create a legal framework that
works for both of you. With all of the detail you must discuss, it
could be easy to lose sight of the technical requirements in the
Fair Work Act (2009) (Cth). Unfortunately, as one employer recently
discovered, these requirements are non-negotiable.
In Uniline Australia Limited [2016] FWC 2973, an application for
the approval of an enterprise agreement was rejected by the Fair
Work Commission following Uniline's failure to provide its
employees with a notice of employee representation within the
requisite 14 days of initiating the bargaining process - and
throwing away over two years' worth of negotiation.
