What is an enterprise agreement (sometimes called EBA)? An enterprise agreement (“EA”) is a legislated agreement between an employer and a group of workers that, in its in progress, replaces an applicable industrial premium. Many employers feel that agreements are unnecessary and prefer to stick to their price, while others like the services they can offer. Corporate agreements are not for everyone, but if you understand them, you can make an informed decision about whether they are right for you or not. Collective bargaining has both advantages and disadvantages that can work for or against the parties involved. While it is legally possible to obtain reciprocal benefits, abuses and inequalities can also take place. As long as the benefits outweigh the setbacks and employees get what they deserve without having a negative impact on the company`s resources and growth, collective bargaining can be a good thing. The “konsen” linked to an enterprise agreement understand that most employers will have heard an “enterprise agreement” or an “enterprise bargaining contract.” But do you know what they are or if they might be useful to you? But for most organizations and certainly most small businesses, enterprise bargaining is expensive and unnecessary. Most of them would probably be better served by focusing on premiums and seeking flexibility through common law contracts that pay too high premiums against premium obligations related to non-industrial forms of employee engagement and advice. No agreement can adapt national employment standards (the “NES”) and all agreements must generally improve all insured workers (the “BOOT”) in relation to any applicable premium. These dual restrictions imply near-zero flexibility in enterprise bargaining. For example: leave cannot be paid in advance or paid in a single hourly rate; Penalty interest and overtime pay cannot be used on all staff by higher average hourly rates for all; and long-term leave cannot be standardised in domestic enterprises. Everyone should receive at least the NES and at least the price, so flexibility only goes in one direction – and pays more to everyone. Of course, entry into an EA can sometimes be a requirement of a prime contractor before entering into a contract to carry out work, especially on large construction sites.

This type of application is as controversial as “settlement agreements” with a union, but which are not approved by the FWC. “We don`t want to pay premiums, can we not just have an enterprise agreement?” Well, no, it`s not that simple. For employees, there are generally not many drawbacks when participating in an EBA. If a worker wants to be represented by the union, he or she is required to pay union fees that may amount to a significant amount of money over time.