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FWC to overlook common agreement errors

The Fair Work Commission has provided clarity on its approach to dealing with agreements containing ‘minor procedural or technical errors’.

On Friday 18 January, a Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) handed down its decision on how the Commission will deal with agreement approvals where an agreement contains ‘minor procedural or technical errors’.

The decision addresses the proper construction of s188(2) of the Fair Work Act 2009, which contains a mechanism for the FWC to conclude that an enterprise agreement has been ‘genuinely agreed’ despite ‘minor procedural or technical errors’.

Industry groups argued for a pragmatic approach to minor errors in agreements, maximising the scope for employers to utilise the FWC’s discretion.

The Full Bench substantially accepted the construction advanced by the groups, including the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), of which AREEA is a member, and rejected those of other parties on key points.

Employers who had inadvertently erred by putting forward agreements for approval with technical or procedural errors should benefit from this practical decision, and can argue that agreement approvals should proceed notwithstanding some of the more common errors that arise during bargaining.

A summary of the decision can be found here.

For more information or assistance in the agreement making approval process, contact an AREEA consultant at your local AREEA office.

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