[2025] FWC 923]
Citation: [2025] FWC 923
At a glance
- Awards cited
- MA000053
What happened
The Maritime Union of Australia (a division of the CFMEU) lodged a dispute against Sydney International Container Terminals Pty Ltd (trading as Hutchison Ports Sydney) and its Brisbane counterpart under their shared enterprise agreement. The dispute centred on whether shiftworkers who were rostered off on a public holiday, and did not work that day, were entitled to an extra day's pay at ordinary rates. The Stevedoring Industry Award 2020 expressly provides that benefit, but the enterprise agreement was silent on it. One employee, Mr Ross Pettett, a maintenance worker at Port Botany working 32 ordinary hours per week on a 12-hour rotating roster, had never received that additional payment. The matter was arbitrated on the papers by Deputy President Easton.
What was decided
Deputy President Easton found in favour of Hutchison, answering 'no' to whether shiftworkers rostered off on a public holiday are entitled to extra pay. First, he rejected Hutchison's argument that workers on 32 hours per week cannot be shiftworkers under the 2020 Award, finding the Award allows guaranteed wage and casual employees to be shiftworkers regardless of hours. However, he found the enterprise agreement's public holiday provisions are comprehensive and intended to cover all public holiday scenarios. Because the agreement expressly addressed three of the four possible public holiday scenarios and was silent only on rostered days off, that silence reflected a deliberate choice. The agreement's provisions were inconsistent with the Award's public holiday clause and therefore displaced it entirely. Note: this decision was partly quashed by a Full Bench on 23 February 2026.
What it means for employers
Employers operating under enterprise agreements that incorporate a modern award should review their agreement carefully. If the agreement comprehensively addresses a topic such as public holidays across most scenarios, a Commission may find the agreement displaces the award on that topic entirely, even where the agreement is silent on one scenario. However, this decision was partly quashed on appeal, so employers in stevedoring or similar industries should not rely on it without checking the Full Bench decision.
What it means for employees
Shiftworkers who are rostered off on a public holiday may not automatically receive extra pay if their enterprise agreement addresses public holidays comprehensively, even if the underlying award would provide that benefit. This case specifically affected maintenance workers at Hutchison Ports sites in Sydney and Brisbane. Because the decision was partly quashed on appeal, affected workers should check the subsequent Full Bench ruling before assuming their entitlements are settled.
Every statement above is drawn from the published decision. Read the original here:
https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/decisionssigned/pdf/2025fwc923.pdfWant more cases like this?
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This summary was drafted by AI from the published decision and reviewed before publishing. It is general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, speak to the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) or a qualified lawyer. About these summaries & corrections →