Section 185 of the Labour Relations Act (\u2018the LRA\u2019) provides that every employee has the right not to be unfairly dismissed or subjected to unfair labour practices. An unfair dismissal occurs when an employee\u2019s employment contract is terminated without good reason or adherence to fair procedure.<\/p>\n
To that end, section 187(1) of the LRA lists various forms of automatically unfair dismissals, including terminating an employee\u2019s contract because they participated in a legal strike, or for reasons related to their pregnancy. In addition, terminating an employment contract based on age \u2013 among other grounds, such as race, gender, or ethnicity \u2013 constitutes an automatically unfair dismissal.<\/p>\n
Section 187(2)(b) of the LRA, however, creates a crucial exemption. It provides that \u2018a dismissal based on age is fair if the employee has reached the normal or agreed retirement age for persons employed in that capacity.\u2019<\/p>\n
Although there is no prescribed retirement age under South African law, employers generally specify an agreed retirement age in employment contracts or policy documents. Depending on the nature of an employee\u2019s work, a \u2018normal\u2019 retirement age is deduced from reference to standard practice. The LRA thus permits an employer to dismiss an employee once they have reached the agreed or normal retirement age.<\/p>\n