| Summary |
DISPUTE – Applicants employed on individual employment agreements (“IEAs”) - Applicants claimed entitled to additional week’s annual leave under collective employment agreement (“CEA”) – Applicants claimed express verbal agreement with respondent benefits of CEA automatically passed on – Respondent argued no such agreement – Alternatively argued even if benefit should be passed on, order would not affect applicants’ overall entitlements – Authority found applicants’ annual leave entitlements based on three weeks, additional week at six years’ service, and further week at ten years’ service – Applicants all had ten years continuous service when signed IEAs – Found on top of five weeks annual leave entitlement, was additional week for shift leave if performed - Authority found necessary for binding and enforceable agreement that Authority satisfied was offer and acceptance that respondent pass on any benefits in CEA, certainty, consideration, and evidence parties intended to create agreement with contractual force – Applicants argued historically salaried staff retained relativity with rubber workers under CEAs – Respondent argued relativity not absolute and produced evidence of dissimilar pay rates and of respondent not allowing different benefit to pass on to salaried staff – Respondent’s management gave evidence that no agreement to pass on benefits - Applicants claimed that during restructuring respondent assured terms and conditions reached with union would be passed on – Authority preferred respondent’s evidence that did not say salaried staff would get what rubber workers got – Found consistent with documentary evidence at time and applicants’ evidence vague – Found no clear statement about offer to pass on benefits – Found unlikely that, where no benefits were likely to be obtained by rubber workers, respondent would have assured terms and conditions would be passed on – Found no mention in IEAs of passing on benefits, or of such discussion with respondent – Found IEAs included entire agreement clause, stating contract was entire agreement, replacing other contracts, agreements or arrangements with respondent - Authority also found lack of certainty in content of alleged agreement, as to what terms and conditions would be passed on – Authority found no express verbal agreement benefits in CEA would be automatically passed on to applicants – Found annual leave benefits in CEA not to automatically apply to applicants |