If you feel like you have been forced to quit your job due to the mean way you have been treated by your employer, it is called constructive dismissal. There may be no actual dismissal from the employer but the result is logically similar as if you have been sacked. Often, it is hard to prove that the employer’s behavior has been so harsh so you must get sufficient and reliable legal advice prior to leaving the job. There must be a serious and fundamental breach of employment contract for you to qualify for constructive dismissal compensation.
Serious violations of employment contract may include any or all of the following: not paying you, abrupt demotion for no apparent reason, forcing you to take unreasonable changes to work conditions without your agreement (like relocation or abrupt changes in working shifts), making you do job tasks in dangerous conditions, and any form of harassment, violence, or bullying against you by the employer or any work colleagues.
Your Jobseeker’s Allowance may be delayed by up to 26 weeks if you leave your job abruptly. Thus, to qualify for constructive dismissal, you should take specific procedures: speak to your employer to resolve the problem, file for a standard grievance procedure, and file for a case against the employer before the Employment Tribunal. If you are not able to claim your Jobseeker’s Allowance, you could claim a hardship payment (usually a reduced amount of the Jobseeker’s Allowance).
The employer might offer you a compromise agreement to resolve the conflict. This way, you would be made to agree not to file for any case before the Tribunal in exchange for a specific amount of money. It is important that you hire a good employment solicitor so that you would be guided effectively and accordingly in every step of the way. Weigh your options. Should you go after constructive dismissal compensation or should you accept a compromise agreement?
It would help if you have an idea of how the constructive dismissal compensation is computed, especially if you aim to be properly compensated for the job loss. In awarding constructive dismissal compensation, the Employment Tribunal is calculating basic and compensatory awards.
Basic award is computed based on your age, gross weekly earnings, and length of employment with the employer. For every year of employment (continuous) when you were under 22 years old, half of a week’s pay is provided. For every year of employment when you were between 22 and 40 years old, a week’s worth of pay is awarded, while for age 41 years and above, 1.5 week’s pay is given. If your contract was terminated following February 1, 2009, limit on weekly pay has been changed to £350.
The constructive dismissal compensation should be just and equitable. That is why compensatory award is usually based on actual losses you suffer from losing the employment. Loss of earnings and related benefits are carefully considered. The losses may be considered from the dismissal date until the tribunal hearing date. You may be subjected under a duty for mitigating your losses. The maximum constructive dismissal compensation amount that the Employment Tribunal could award has been raised to £66,200.
Contact a reliable employment law specialist if you need to obtain legal guidance on your possible constructive dismissal compensation. You also need legal advice if you are considering any compromise agreement being offered by the employer.