Constructive Dismissal
When your employer's conduct forces you to resign, making your position untenable through their actions.
What is Constructive Dismissal
Constructive dismissal occurs when your employer's conduct makes your working life so difficult that you feel forced to resign. The legal test is whether your employer's behavior fundamentally breached your contract of employment, destroying the relationship of trust and confidence between you.
You must resign in direct response to your employer's conduct, typically without giving them opportunity to remedy the situation (though this isn't always required). Simply being unhappy at work isn't enough - there must be serious breaches that make your position untenable.
Constructive dismissal can be harder to prove than direct dismissal, requiring evidence of the employer's conduct and your reasonable response to it. However, successful claims often achieve substantial compensation for the employer's serious misconduct.
Common Reasons
Bullying and harassment by managers or colleagues is the most common reason we see. This includes persistent criticism, public humiliation, aggressive behavior, or systematic undermining of your authority or competence. Workplace investigations that become witch-hunts also frequently lead to resignations.
Other common scenarios include: fundamental changes to your role, responsibilities, or working conditions without agreement; failure to address serious grievances or workplace problems; creating hostile environments after you've raised complaints; imposing impossible working conditions or unrealistic targets designed to force resignation.
Employers sometimes use constructive dismissal tactics to avoid redundancy payments or disciplinary procedures, making life so difficult that employees quit. We also see cases involving failure to provide safe working environments, persistent breaches of health and safety obligations, or exposing employees to discrimination without protection.
Your Rights and Typical Results
Constructive dismissal compensation typically ranges £8,000-£25,000, depending on your length of service and losses incurred. These cases often achieve substantial compensation when employers' conduct is found to be particularly serious or unreasonable.
You shouldn't have to tolerate impossible working conditions. If you've been forced to resign, you may have been constructively dismissed.
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Frequently asked questions
