Constructive dismissal occurs when your employer forces you to quit or significantly changes a major term or condition of your employment.

Employers cannot make significant changes to the fundamental terms or conditions of an employee’s employment without providing the employee with sufficient notice of that change and/or without the employee’s consent. Significant changes can include a reduction in salary, a decrease in working hours, a change in work location, or a change to the employee’s responsibilities.

Where an employer makes any such substantial change to the terms and conditions of an employee’s employment without the employee’s consent, the employee has the option of treating their employment as having been terminated, as the fundamental terms of employment will have been repudiated.

Similarly, if an employee is subject to bullying, harassment, and/or abuse by the employer, and feels that they have no choice but to leave, the employment may be considered to have been terminated.

If the employee leaves their job in such cases, their departure will be considered a constructive dismissal, rather than a resignation. That employee will then be entitled to a “severance package” much as they would in a standard termination. However, where that employee cannot establish that they were constructively dismissed, they will instead be considered to have resigned, and will not be entitled to any severance package. Given those drastic consequences, an employee that believes they may have been constructively dismissed should seek experienced legal advice as soon as possible.