Certified agreements
What is a certified agreement?
What can be included in a certified agreement?
Negotiating a certified agreement
Understand the terms of a certified agreement
How does a certified agreement become legally binding?
What is a certified agreement?
A certified agreement is a written collective employment agreement that sets out the wages and working conditions for a particular group of employees. The group of employees may be the whole of a workforce or a specific group that is somehow separate and distinct. Certified agreements can cover a single workplace or be made to cover a group of associated employers.
A certified agreement may be negotiated between the employer and:
- employees working at the time; or
- union/s entitled to represent employees who will be covered by the agreement
A certified agreement will also cover employees who commence employment after the agreement is made.
What can be included in a certified agreement?
The actual content and scope of a certified agreement is up to the negotiating parties to decide. However, it should focus on work arrangements which cater for the needs of both the business and the employees. In this regard, certified agreements need not be limited to traditional industrial relations arrangements.
In developing a certified agreement, the parties are responsible for ensuring the content of the agreement meets all the legal requirements.
The Act requires that all certified agreements must include:
- a dispute-resolution procedure; and
- a nominal expiry date for the agreement (a maximum of three years after the date from which the agreement commences to operate)
In addition to this, the Act requires that a certified agreement must not include provions that are:
- discriminatory; or
- inconsistent with the Act’s provisions relating to equal remuneration for work of equal or comparable value, dismissals or freedom of association, or orders or injunctions by the Commission
Negotiating a certified agreement
The actual negotiations to make a single employer or multi employer certified agreement can take place between:
- the employer and the relevant unions
- the employer, the employees and the unions requested to negotiate on behalf of member employees
- the employer and the employees
- the employer and a representative employee committee
The proposer of the agreement must give written advice of their intention to begin negotiations to all other proposed parties to the agreement. This must be done at least 14 days before it is proposed to begin negotiations.
When negotiating the terms of a proposed agreement, the proposed parties to the agreement must negotiate in good faith for example:
- agreeing to meet at reasonable times proposed by another party
- attending meetings that the party had agreed to attend
- complying with negotiation procedures agreed to by the parties
Understand the terms of a certified agreement
Employers must take reasonable steps to ensure that employees understand the terms and conditions of any proposed certified agreement that will cover their employment before approving the agreement.
For example:
- all employees covered by a certified agreement must be given a copy of the agreement at least 14 days before they are asked to approve it
- the terms of the agreement (including dispute resolution procedures) and their effect must be explained to all employees who will be covered by the agreement
- if the agreement is being made directly with employees, they must be informed that they can have their union represent them in negotiations with the employer. If an employee takes up this option the employer must give the union a reasonable opportunity to represent the employee
- a ‘valid majority’ of employees must approve the agreement.
- an employer must first give all employees whose employment will be covered by the proposed certified agreement a reasonable opportunity to decide on whether or not they approve it
How does a certified agreement become legally binding?
To be legally binding, certified agreements must be approved by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC).
To be approved the certified agreement must also satisfy particular requirements. For example, it must:
- have been negotiated/made in accordance with the specific requirements under section 6 in the Industrial Relations Act 1999 (PDF, 1.9 MB)
- have the genuine approval of a ‘valid majority’ of the employees to be covered by the agreement
- pass the no-disadvantage test (i.e. a comparison of the entitlements and protections for employees under the certified agreement with those under the relevant award).
Once approved, certified agreements are binding on all the parties, i.e. the employer, existing employees and employees hired after the agreement is approved and the unions with which the agreement has been made.
Employers can obtain further information on negotiating a certified agreement by contacting an Employer association.
Employees can obtain further information by contacting their union.
Last updated 21 July 2009
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