The Constitutional Court has clarified critical interpretations surrounding age-related dismissals.
The judgements stem from two pivotal cases, effectively establishing that an employee cannot be dismissed based on age if they have reached an agreed retirement age, and vice versa. The court underlined that once an employee is bound by an agreed retirement age, the notion of a normal retirement age becomes irrelevant. Conversely, if an employee has not consented to any retirement age, the framework of a normal retirement age does not apply to them. This duality has profound implications for how dismissals can be processed within the parameters set out by the Labour Relations Act (LRA).
At the heart of the cases involved was the plight of Willem Frederick Landman, represented by the Motoring Industry Staff Association, and a group of six employees represented by Solidarity who had their employment terminated after surpassing the normal retirement threshold at the State Information Technology Agency (SITA). This context was examined in detail as the court grappled with an employer's rationale for dismissing workers based on age, emphasising that such reasons must adhere strictly to contractual agreements.
In Landman's case, he served as a procurement officer whose services were terminated nearly a year after he reached the agreed retirement age of 60. The employer, Great South Autobody CC, justified the dismissal as fair, citing his age. However, the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of Landman, declaring that since the dismissal did not transpire on the agreed upon retirement date, it constituted an automatically unfair dismissal, thereby violating provisions laid out in Section 187(1)(f) of the LRA.
Willem Frederick Landman was a procurement officer at Great South Autobody CC before his retirement. Picture: Courtesy, Great South Autobody CC
Further bolstering this stance, the then Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, who presided over the matter before his retirement, articulated during the ruling that the justifications for dismissals based on age are contingent upon the dismissal occurring precisely on the retirement age. Any practices otherwise can expose employers to accusations of unfair discrimination.
In the Solidarity case, the court similarly ruled in favour of the six former SITA employees. They had continued working past the normal retirement age, only to face dismissals that were declared unjust as they too were not conducted following agreed retirement terms. Significantly, the ruling entailed that each individual was entitled to compensation, amounting to 24 months' remuneration at their pre-dismissal pay rate.
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