Enterprise agreements contain minimum terms of employment for a collection of employees in the workplace. These terms must meet the better off over all test (BOOT) ensuring they are more favourable than those found in the National Employment Standards or a modern award.
Enterprise Agreements
An enterprise agreement (sometimes referred to as an enterprise bargaining agreement or EBA) is an agreement established jointly by employers and employees containing terms and conditions of employment. Enterprise agreements must cover at least two employees.
Enterprise agreements can govern notice payments, redundancy payments, dispute resolution, leave entitlements, minimum rates of pay, flexible working arrangements and much more.
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Types of enterprise agreements
There are two main types of enterprise agreements.
Single-enterprise agreements are made by a single employer or two or more employers with a “single interest”, such as businesses engaged in a joint venture or related corporations.
Multi-enterprise agreements are made by two or more employers that are not are not single interest employers.
Greenfields agreements
An enterprise agreement relating to a genuine new enterprise (i.e., a new business) before the employer(s) have employed any employees who will be covered by the agreement is called a greenfields agreement.
Enterprise agreement breaches
Employees are sometimes unaware they are covered by an enterprise agreement and therefore unaware of some of the rights and entitlements that they may be able to access.
If you believe that your employer has contravened an enterprise agreement that applies to your employment, you may be entitled to recover compensation from the Fair Work Commission or the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.
Frequently asked questions
Enterprise agreements must pass the better off overall test or BOOT which ensures the agreement has better entitlements than any relevant award you would otherwise be covered by.
Enterprise agreements can be varied at any time where employers and employees covered by the agreement agree to the variation.
Agreements must be varied via application to the Fair Work Commission for approval.
If your employer is not meeting the pay rates, penalty rates, rostering rules, leave entitlements, or consultation processes set out in the agreement, that could be a breach, and you may be entitled to recover compensation. Check your rights by reading the agreement or speaking to an employment lawyer.
Enterprise agreements cannot contain discriminatory or objectionable terms that breach an employee’s general protections under the Fair Work Act. They also cannot contain terms inconsistent with unfair dismissal provisions, industrial relations provisions or right of entry provisions of the Fair Work Act.
