When Do Age Requirements For A Job Constitute Unfair Discrimination?

In South Africa, the Constitution prohibits unfair discrimination based on a number of grounds, including age. In a recent Supreme Court of Appeal ("SCA") decision in South African Navy and Another v Tebeila Institute of Leadership, Governance and Training, the SCA was faced with the question of determining whether age requirements for a particular job constituted unfair discrimination.

This matter centred around the South African Navy's military skills development system ("MSDS"), which is used by the South African National Defence Force, of which the Navy forms a part, to select persons for training who enlist in the Defence Force. The Tebeila Institute of Leadership, Education, Governance and Training challenged the age requirements for admission to the MSDS.