Legal expenses insurance will usually cover legal proceedings relating to your employment. This means, if you have the appropriate legal expenses cover, it is possible to make your constructive dismissal claim with your legal expense insurers paying your legal costs.

Legal expenses insurance may take the form of a separate policy or you may have legal expenses cover under a different insurance policy, such as your home insurance. Find out more about legal expenses insurance here.

Truth Legal is one of a small number of solicitors that is prepared to take on some employment claims on a no win, no fee basis. We can discuss this with you in more detail if you decide that we are the right firm of solicitors for you!

Make sure you follow any internal grievance procedure before you resign

Whatever the problems you are facing at work, you should try and use the internal grievance procedure to resolve things before taking the step of resigning. However, this does depend upon the circumstances of your situation.

Don’t leave it too long before you resign

If you stay in your job for too long after your employer has breached the contract, your employer will try and argue that the breach wasn’t that bad, or that even if it was that bad, you have ‘accepted’ it by staying in work.

Make it clear in your resignation letter that you are resigning because of the breach of contract by your employer

Include the details of what has happened and the efforts you have made to resolve the situation, including the grievance process. Make it very clear that this is why you are resigning. The letter of resignation is a very important document and it is advisable to seek employment law advice on the contents of the letter.

Don’t leave it too long to seek legal advice

Remember that you only have a limited period of time to bring a constructive dismissal claim in an Employment Tribunal – usually 3 months less one day from the date you resigned, plus any extension of time due to ACAS Early Conciliation. You would be able to bring a wrongful dismissal claim (i.e. a claim for your notice pay) in a County Court and for this you would usually have six years in which to issue court proceedings.

You must normally have worked for your employer for two years or more to bring a constructive unfair dismissal claim. However, if your employer breaches your contract of employment before you have two years’ service, you may still be able to bring a claim of wrongful dismissal. Compensation for wrongful dismissal will allow you to recover your financial losses, such as pay and commission you would have received during a notice period.

If you can show that you have been constructively unfairly dismissed and you have two years’ service, then your compensation will be made up of:

a basic award calculated in a similar way to the statutory redundancy payment formula ; and

a compensatory award which is a calculation of the money you have lost as a result of the constructive dismissal i.e. the value of your net earnings and benefits. This is capped at a maximum of 1 year’s salary, or £89,493 (the current statutory cap for dismissals between 6 April 2021 and 5 April 2022), whichever is the lower. The exception to this is where the breach of contract is related to another issue such as unlawful discrimination, whistleblowing, health and safety breaches, pregnancy or if the constructive dismissal arises out of you trying to assert a statutory right. In those situations, the statutory cap does not apply.

If you started a new job during your notice period, you must take account of this in a constructive dismissal claim.

In addition, you may be able to claim for your notice period and your loss of statutory rights, amongst other heads of claims. For an example Schedules of Loss, take a look at our free, downloadable documents available in our Legal Library .

Feeling that you have no option but to resign from your employment because your employer is not respecting your contract of employment is a very stressful and upsetting time. While taking legal action may feel like an additional stress, financial compensation may help you while you are getting yourself back on your feet and with paying bills. It’s important to choose a firm of solicitors that understands what you are going through and will take the time to give your case the personal attention it deserves.

Truth Legal specialises in advising people in these difficult situations. If we can help resolve a situation so that you don’t have to leave your employment, we will do so. If you have no option to resign we can explain what your options are and how you may be able to claim compensation from your employer. We may even be able to negotiate a Settlement Agreement which means you will receive compensation without the stress of an employment tribunal hearing (not to mention the time and costs that this will involve).

Constructive dismissal claims can be trickier to win than some other employment law claims. You must be able to show that your employer acted in breach of your contract of employment, and you resigned because of that breach. This can be difficult, for example if you have accepted another job elsewhere before resigning. Difficulties can also arise if you wait too long after the breach has occurred before resigning.

You should never resign from your employment and assume that you will be able to claim compensation for constructive dismissal. However, if you find yourself in a situation at work where your employer is ignoring your contract of employment and which you are unable to tolerate any longer, and feel your only option is to resign, it may be worth considering a claim for constructive dismissal.