Are enterprise agreements on the way out? The Fair Work
Commission's Annual Report 2016-17 highlighted:
- Fewer businesses are making enterprise agreements;
- The FWC are approving fewer enterprise agreements;
- The number of enterprise agreement applications being withdrawn
have increased;
- The number of agreements being approved with undertakings has
increased; and
- The number of applications for termination of enterprise
agreements after their nominal expiry date has doubled since
2014.
Historically, to be approved (or 'certified') by the
Commission, enterprise agreements had to pass a "no
disadvantage test", as against a relevant award.
Fast forward to 2009, and the Labor Government introduced a
"better off over all test" (or BOOT) in
the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act), meaning
agreements could only be approved if employees (employed at the
time the agreement was made and in the future) were better off
under the agreement than if their employment was
