Constructive Dismissal
Constructive Dismissal is a term that is often bandied about without clearly understanding the meaning. To an employment solicitor, constructive dismissal occurs when an employee leaves their work due to their employer's behaviour. It is difficult to succeed at a claim for constructive dismissal and we strongly recommend that any employee speaks to expert employment solicitors immediately prior to making the decision to resign.
In order to succeed in a claim for constructive dismissal the employee must show:-
- The employer has committed a serious breach of the contract, so serious that it as if the employer ripped up the contract of employment. This can be one serious incident or a series of less serious incidents taken together; and
- You were forced to leave work because of that breach; and
- You have not accepted the breach or a change in your employment conditions (the timing of the act that the employee claims was the breach and the resignation are crucial - leave it too long and the Court deems that the employee has accepted the breach).
The legal tests for constructive dismissal are rigorous.
If you are an employee and you do resign, and you wish to claim constructive dismissal it is a good idea to state the reasons why and cite the serious breach as the reason why or several of the less serious incidents in your resignation letter/e-mail. Prior to resigning in writing, you may wish to speak to your manager or someone in HR, but always write a contemporaneous note of that conversation.