Automotive II Tooling Systems (Pty) Ltd v Wilkens & others was an important case in South African labour law, in which the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa confirmed the principle that a restraint of trade would be considered unreasonable and contrary to public policy, and thus unenforceable, if it does not protect some legally recognisable interest of the employer and merely seeks to exclude or eliminate competition.
[1] The court further pointed out that the dividing line between the use by an employee of his own skill, knowledge and experience, which he cannot be restrained from using, and the use of his employer's trade secrets or confidential information or other interest, which he may not disclose if bound by a restraint, is often very difficult to define.
In this particular case, the business of the appellant was in a specialised technological field relating to the design, manufacture and/or customisation of special-purpose machines and tooling.
The appellant claimed to have a proprietary interest in the know-how acquired by the respondents and sought to interdict them, relying on the restraint of trade clause.
The court dismissed the appeal on the basis that the appellant had failed to establish a proprietary interest that might legitimately be protected, concluding that the restraint was inimical to public policy and therefore unenforceable.