Constructive dismissal
Constructive dismissal is when an employee is forced to quit their job against their will because of their employer's conduct. Find out what you can do if you feel that you have to leave your job.
Constructive dismissal explained
Constructive dismissal is a form of dismissal. If you resign from your job because of your employer's behaviour, it may be considered to be constructive dismissal. You would need to show that:
- your employer has committed a serious breach of contract
- you felt forced to leave because of that breach
- you have not done anything to suggest that you have accepted their breach or a change in employment conditions
Examples of constructive dismissal
The reason for leaving your job must be serious - there must be a fundamental breach of your contract. Examples include:
- a serious breach of your contract (such as not paying you or demoting you for no reason)
- forcing you to accept unreasonable changes to your conditions of employment without your agreement (such as making you work in another town, or work night shifts when your contract is only for day work)
- bullying, harassment or violence against you by work colleagues
- making you work in dangerous conditions
Your employer's breach of contract may be one serious incident or the last in a series of less important incidents that are serious when taken together.
Considering constructive dismissal
Speak to your manager
Leaving your job should be the last resort. If you want to leave your job because of your employer's behaviour, firstly, speak to your manager and see if you can resolve the problem. If the problem is with your manager, you could talk to:
- their manager
- your company's HR (human resources) department
- an employee representative (for example, a trade union official), if you have one
- Labour Relations Agency
- How to resolve a problem at work
- Employment contracts and conditions
Grievance procedures and mediation
If speaking to your manager or someone else doesn't work, try to sort out the problem with your employer through your company's standard grievance procedure.
If this doesn't work, and your employer agrees to it, you could try mediation through the Labour Relations Agency (LRA), where a specialist will try to help you and your employer sort out the problem.
If a grievance is the subject of a claim to a tribunal, the tribunal may adjust any award up or down by as much as 50 per cent, where the provisions of the LRA Code of Practice on Discipline and Grievance Procedures have not been followed.
Industrial Tribunal claims
If talking to your employer or mediation doesn't work and you feel you have to quit, you should first get some advice to see if you have a case for unfair or wrongful dismissal following a constructive dismissal. It is often very hard to prove that your employer's behaviour was so bad as to make you leave.
If you do have a case for constructive dismissal, and you think you can show it was unfair or wrongful, ideally you should then leave your job immediately. Or the employer may argue that, by staying, you have accepted the conduct or treatment.
Also, avoid resigning before the actual breach of contract occurs. Your employer could then claim there has been no dismissal.
Claiming benefits if you are forced to quit your job
If you leave your job, your local Jobs and Benefits office/JobCentre can delay your Jobseeker's Allowance for up to 26 weeks. Make sure they understand what's happened and why you had to leave.
If you are taking your case to an Industrial Tribunal, it's a good idea to give the Jobs and Benefits office/JobCentre copies of your completed Tribunal application forms.
If you can't claim Jobseeker's Allowance, you may be able to claim a hardship payment (a reduced amount of Jobseeker's Allowance).