Bona fide occupational requirements can be defined as “a condition of employment that is imposed in the belief that it is necessary for the safe, efficient, and reliable performance of the job and which is objectively, reasonably necessary for such performance (Gledhill, Jamnik and Shaw, 2001: p 9).” Organisations who wish to impose a bona fide occupational requirement are required to identify the most demanding and most representative tasks performed in the occupation, and determine the physiological requirements that are required for the successful completion of these tasks. People seeking employment in, or those already employed in the profession, should then be expected to exhibit these characteristics as they are related to the person’s ability to successfully perform their expected job duties.
