Commonwealth Repealed Acts

This legislation has been repealed.

WORKPLACE RELATIONS ACT 1996 - SECT 337

             (1)  If an employer intends to have a workplace agreement (other than a greenfields agreement) approved under section 340, the employer must take reasonable steps to ensure that all eligible employees in relation to the agreement either have, or have ready access to, the agreement in writing during the period:

                     (a)  beginning 7 days before the agreement is approved; and

                     (b)  ending when the agreement is approved.

             (2)  The employer must take reasonable steps to ensure that all eligible employees in relation to the agreement are given an information statement at least 7 days before the agreement is approved.

             (3)  Despite subsections (1) and (2), if the agreement is a collective agreement and a person becomes an eligible employee at a time during the period mentioned in subsection (1), the employer must take reasonable steps to ensure that:

                     (a)  the person is given an information statement at or before that time; and

                     (b)  the person either has, or has ready access to, the agreement in writing during the period:

                              (i)  beginning at that time; and

                             (ii)  ending when the agreement is approved under section 340.

             (4)  The information statement mentioned in subsection (2) and paragraph (3)(a) must contain:

                     (a)  information about the time at which and the manner in which the approval will be sought under section 340; and

                     (b)  if the agreement is an ITEA--information about the effect of section 334 (which deals with bargaining agents); and

                     (c)  if the agreement is an employee collective agreement--information about the effect of section 335 (which deals with bargaining agents); and

                     (d)  any other information that the Workplace Authority Director requires by notice published in the Gazette .

             (5)  If a waiver has been made under section 338 in relation to the workplace agreement:

                     (a)  subsection (1) and paragraph (3)(b) do not apply if, before the time the waiver was made, the employer had taken reasonable steps to ensure that all eligible employees in relation to the agreement (as at that time) either had, or had ready access to, the agreement in writing; and

                     (b)  subsection (2) does not apply if, before the time the waiver was made, the employer had taken reasonable steps to ensure that all eligible employees in relation to the agreement (as at that time) had been given an information statement in relation to the agreement that complies with subsection (4).

             (6)  For the purposes of this section, if the workplace agreement incorporates terms from another workplace agreement or an award, the eligible employees have ready access to the workplace agreement only if they have ready access to that other workplace agreement or award in writing.

             (7)  To avoid doubt, if the content of the workplace agreement is changed during the period mentioned in subsection (1), the change results in a separate workplace agreement for the purposes of this section.

Note:          If the content of an agreement for which the employer intends to seek approval is changed, the procedural steps set out in subsections (1), (2) and (3) must be repeated for the resulting separate agreement.

Contravention--ready access

             (8)  An employer contravenes this subsection if:

                     (a)  the employer lodges a workplace agreement; and

                     (b)  the employer failed to comply with subsection (1) or (if applicable) paragraph (3)(b) in relation to the agreement.

Contravention--information statement

             (9)  An employer contravenes this subsection if:

                     (a)  the employer lodges a workplace agreement; and

                     (b)  the employer failed to comply with subsection (2) or (if applicable) paragraph (3)(a) in relation to the agreement.

           (10)  Subsections (8) and (9) are civil remedy provisions.

Note:          See Division 11 for provisions on enforcement.

           (11)  An employer cannot contravene subsection (8) or (9) more than once in relation to the lodgment of a particular workplace agreement.