- Martina Prokopova’s doctors recommended consistent working hours and limited overtime to support her recovery from severe anxiety and major depressive disorder.
- She raised concerns about changing shifts, long working periods and the effect of work demands on her health before resigning in June 2022.
- The Labour Court in Cape Town dismissed Global Load Control’s challenge to a CCMA award of R276,805.20 in compensation for constructive dismissal.
Being told at 7pm to report for duty at 2am the following morning was among the working conditions Martina Prokopova described in her dispute with Global Load Control, where she had worked for 15 years.
She also described shifts changed at short notice, periods of seven consecutive working days and difficulties securing working hours consistent with medical recommendations for severe anxiety and depression.
The dispute unfolded against the background of South Africa’s Mental Health Awareness Month in October, which draws attention to mental health and the importance of understanding mental health conditions.
Prokopova’s case concerned her employer’s response to medical recommendations, its operational requirements and whether the conditions she faced made continued employment intolerable.
Medical recommendations and changing working hours
Prokopova joined Global Load Control, a company providing remote services to airlines in the distribution of passengers, cargo and luggage, and moved from its Czech Republic office to Cape Town in 2014. During her employment, she worked in several positions, including Load Control Agent, Workforce Planning and Key Accounts Manager.
In September 2019, she was diagnosed with severe anxiety and work-related stress. In November that year, she was admitted to Akeso Clinic for major depressive disorder and severe anxiety. Her occupational therapist, Dr Jacklin, subsequently wrote to the company recommending adjustments to her working conditions to support her recovery.
On 17 December 2019, Global Load Control agreed that Prokopova would work from 07:00 to 16:00, Monday to Friday, without overtime. The arrangement was not consistently maintained as operational changes affected the company’s work.
In June 2020, Prokopova informed the company that her anxiety had worsened and that her psychiatrist had increased her medication. She took sick leave in July for major depressive disorder and generalised anxiety disorder. Dr Jacklin again recommended consistent working hours and minimal overtime that month.
In February 2021, Global Load Control informed Prokopova that it could no longer maintain the agreed hours because of operational requirements following a tender award to service SQ, a low-cost airline for Singapore Airlines. Some of her duties were delegated to other employees.
A further accommodation meeting took place in March 2021. Prokopova experienced a nervous breakdown linked to her workload. At the end of that month, the company charged her with gross negligence. Instead of proceeding with a disciplinary hearing, she accepted a demotion from Key Accounts Manager to Load Control Agent.
Global Load Control maintained that the demotion ended the previous working-hours arrangement and that Prokopova was thereafter subject to the shift work and overtime requirements applicable to other agents. Prokopova disputed that she had been informed that the arrangement was ending.
Short-notice shifts and overtime
In April 2021, Dr Jacklin recommended that Prokopova’s overtime be limited to 10 hours a week and no more than two hours per shift. The company did not respond to that recommendation.
Prokopova subsequently took sick leave for severe burnout in September 2021, an ankle injury in February 2022 and severe myalgia in late April and May 2022.
In a report dated 6 May 2022, Dr Jacklin stated that the overtime Prokopova was working did not align with the medical recommendations. The therapist recommended allowing her to work overtime from home.
Global Load Control responded on 26 May 2022 that Prokopova had worked only 13 overtime hours above the five hours it said were required between January and May that year. It denied failing to accommodate her and said its client required employees to work from the office.
During the arbitration, Prokopova described shifts that were changed at short notice, sometimes several times in one day. She said she could receive an instruction at about 19:00 to start work at 02:00 the next morning. She also described working seven consecutive days without rest and being scheduled to work on days off.
Prokopova explained that she needed eight hours of sleep because she was taking sleeping medication. She also said she had sometimes been scheduled to work while booked off sick, although she had offered to work when the company could not find a replacement.
Resignation and the dispute over constructive dismissal
On 2 June 2022, Prokopova consulted her psychiatrist and was booked off work until 12 June. She had only two sick-leave days remaining in the cycle and resigned that day, giving one month’s notice.
In a letter dated 13 June, she explained that she was resigning because the company had refused to accommodate her under the working arrangement agreed in 2019, despite knowing about her medical condition. She said she would not have resigned if the company had continued the accommodation.
The dispute proceeded to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). Commissioner CM Bennett found that Prokopova had been constructively dismissed and awarded her 12 months’ compensation amounting to R276,805.20.
Global Load Control applied to the Labour Court to review and set aside the award. It argued that Prokopova had resigned voluntarily, that the CCMA lacked jurisdiction and that operational requirements explained the shift arrangements. The company also argued that she should have lodged a formal grievance and that she had contributed to the situation by failing to set boundaries.
Labour Court considers the employer’s response
In its judgment delivered on 22 September 2026, the Labour Court in Cape Town, with Judge T Gandidze presiding, considered the medical recommendations, the working arrangements and the company’s response to Prokopova’s concerns.
The judgment noted that Global Load Control’s human resources executive, Rita Rodrigues, had received reports from Dr Jacklin, but the information was apparently not communicated to the employees responsible for scheduling and line management.
Prokopova had also raised her concerns about shifts informally with her manager, Elmarie Jones. The judge rejected the argument that she should have lodged a formal grievance, taking into account that the human resources executive had already rejected her accommodation concerns and accused her of providing misinformation.
The Labour Court found that the evidence established constructive dismissal under section 186(1)(e) of the Labour Relations Act. The employer knew about Prokopova’s psychiatric condition but failed to ensure that her medical needs were properly considered when working arrangements were made.
The court emphasised the need for employers to act sensitively when they know, or ought reasonably to know, that an employee has a psychiatric illness. Operational requirements did not excuse the failure to address the medical recommendations and the concerns raised about working hours.
The court dismissed Global Load Control’s review application, leaving the CCMA’s compensation award of R276,805.20 in place. It made no order as to costs.
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