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Constructive Unfair Dismissal

Constructive unfair dismissal occurs when you, as the employee, ends your employment when you believe that your employer has acted in such a manner as to fundamentally breach your employment contract, e.g. an employer changing an employee’s terms and conditions, not adequately dealing with allegations of bullying that an employee has raised or failed to deal with a grievance.

Been employed for over 2 years? Do you have a Constructive Unfair Dismissal claim?

Constructive unfair dismissal is statistically the hardest of all claims to prove in an Employment Tribunal as the burden of proof is reversed in that the employee must first give evidence to convince the Tribunal hearing the claim that there has actually been a dismissal because of his/her employer’s actions.

To succeed in such a claim, an employee must prove the following:

There has been a fundamental breach of contract by the employer.
That the employee has resigned because of that breach.
That the employee has not affirmed the contract following the breach, meaning that the Claimant has not accepted the breach by carrying on working for the employer.

The fundamental breach of contract can either be a breach of an expressed term, for example, if an employer is seeking to change hours of work or a breach of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence.

Constructive Unfair Dismissal Compensation

If the employee is successful in a claim for constructive unfair dismissal the Employment Tribunal would award damages.

The damages are made up of two components, namely

A basic award - calculated like a redundancy payment - i.e. based on age and length of service and gross wages.
A compensatory award - based on the actual financial loss that can be attributed to your employer.

Contact our solicitors about Constructive Unfair Dismissal?

If you feel you may have a claim for Constructive Unfair Dismissal, then please either contact Pearson Solicitors Employment Law Team or call 0161 785 3500.