If you are forced to resign because of the way your employer has treated you, you may be able to claim "Constructive Dismissal". If this applies to you, we recommend that you contact a solicitor at Advantage Employment Law for an initial consultation.
At Advantage Employment Law, we usually carry out claims on a 'No Win No Fee' basis.
What is constructive dismissal?
Constructive dismissal is the term used where you resign in response to your employer's breach of the employment contract. In this situation, your resignation is treated as a dismissal. You were effectively forced out of your employment by your employer’s conduct.
- Your employer was in serious breach of the employment contract;
- You resigned in response to that breach
- You did now wait too long before resigning.
Your employer’s conduct must be sufficiently serious to amount to a significant breach of the employment contract. This includes the implied duty of trust and confidence.
The employer’s conduct may be a single serious incident or a series of less serious incidents.
The law does not require you to raise a grievance but generally speaking, you should do so before bringing a claim for constructive dismissal. A failure to raise a grievance may mean that any compensation that you might subsequently be awarded could be reduced by up to 25%.
Even if you have already resigned, you should still raise a grievance before bringing an Employment Tribunal claim.
If you are successful in your constructive dismissal claim, the tribunal will usually order your former employer to pay you:-
- A Basic Award (calculated by reference to how long you have been employedyou’re your weekly earnings); and
- A Compensatory Award (calculated by reference to your lost earnings resulting from being out of work).
You should be aware that you are under an obligation to keep your losses to a minimum – for example, by looking for another job. If you find another job quickly, any compensation payable to you will be reduced by the amount of money you have earned during the period which would otherwise have been your notice period.
The tribunal may reduce compensation payable to you if it finds that you have not taken reasonable steps to seek alternative employment. This will depend upon a number of factors including your experience and the state of the job market in your line of work. The compensation will be reduced by an estimated amount, representing the income that you should have been able to earn during the notice period.
Compensation for constructive dismissal is only available to employees who have worked for their employer for at least one year.
A claim for constructive dismissal needs to be lodged at the tribunal within three months of the date of the termination of your employment although ideally it should be lodged as soon as possible.
Next steps . . .
We recommend that you contact one of our solicitors as soon as possible in order to protect your position.
Very often, an employment dispute can be settled by way of a compromise agreement.
Please contact a solicitor at Advantage Employment Law for an initial consultation if you need advice on your employment rights.
