{"id":3025,"date":"2021-09-08T21:36:12","date_gmt":"2021-09-09T01:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging-citation-canada.hrdownloads.com\/?p=3025"},"modified":"2023-04-27T13:20:52","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T17:20:52","slug":"best-practices-to-avoid-constructive-dismissal-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-site.citationcanada.com\/fr\/blog\/article\/best-practices-to-avoid-constructive-dismissal-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Practices to Avoid Constructive Dismissal Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #28292b;\">Constructive dismissal occurs when an employer makes a significant change to the essential terms of an employee\u2019s contract that is so intolerable the employee feels they have no choice but to resign in response. Since this resignation is the result of the change, it is not really voluntary and can be considered a termination. With the ongoing pandemic, companies have had to adapt very quickly to the changing environment. This rapid shift in priorities can lead to mistakes, some with severe consequences. Given the risks involved, <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">how can employers avoid constructive dismissal claims?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field hs_cos_wrapper_type_rich_text\" data-hs-cos-general-type=\"meta_field\" data-hs-cos-type=\"rich_text\"><\/span><wp-block data-block=\"core\/more\"><\/wp-block><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"color: #42337e; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Types of constructive dismissal and its causes<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #28292b;\">There are two types of constructive dismissal. The first occurs when there is a substantial one-sided change to the essential terms of employment. The second occurs when there is a series of actions that demonstrates the employer no longer intends to adhere to the employment contract. The most common causes of constructive dismissal claims are a result of changes to:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #28292b;\">Job duties and responsibilities, including demotions;<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #28292b;\">Working conditions, including where work is performed; and<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #28292b;\">Compensation, including wages and benefits.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #28292b;\">Poisoned or toxic work environments can also be grounds for constructive dismissal.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"color: #42337e; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Constructive dismissal and returning to work<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #28292b;\">Is your organization planning to recall employees back to the workplace after working remotely? Hopefully you included that right in your <span style=\"color: #0072e0;\"><a style=\"color: #0072e0;\" href=\"https:\/\/staging-citation-canada.hrdownloads.com\/product\/fundamentals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">remote work policy.<\/a><\/span> If your remote work policy did not explicitly state you could recall employees and you make them return to the office, that could be grounds for constructive dismissal.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #28292b;\">An employer needs to keep in mind that a constructive dismissal is essentially a termination by actions rather than words. The employer does not necessarily have to state that an employee has been terminated, but if their actions violate the existing terms of the contract, it can open a chance for constructive dismissal.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"color: #42337e; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Repercussions of a valid constructive dismissal claim<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #28292b;\">As you can see, there are a wide range of scenarios that may be considered cause for constructive dismissal, and these claims can be costly for employers. If an employee sues their employer and the court determines constructive dismissal has occurred, the employee may be awarded a financial settlement. <span style=\"color: #0072e0;\"><a style=\"color: #0072e0;\" href=\"https:\/\/hicksmorley.com\/2020\/12\/22\/ontario-court-of-appeal-upholds-1-27-damages-award-against-employer-for-breach-of-fixed-term-employment-contract\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision<\/a><\/span> , for example, upheld an award of $1.27 million to a constructively dismissed employee. You want to avoid litigation, as losing can hurt your business financially, but even if the employee loses the case, merely being accused of constructive dismissal can hurt an employer\u2019s reputation.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"color: #42337e; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Guide to avoiding constructive dismissal claims<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #28292b;\">Employers have the right to make changes to the employment relationship, but must do so carefully and always act in good faith towards the employee. Constructive dismissal is a complex topic, and due to the individual nature of constructive dismissal claims, we strongly recommend that you seek legal advice before making any changes to the essential terms of employment.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #28292b;\">As a precaution, following best practices guidelines can help you to avoid constructive dismissal claims. That is why our team of expert HR professionals has created a guide to avoiding constructive dismissal claims that outlines key aspects and focus areas that employers should keep in mind. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #28292b;\"><span style=\"color: #0072e0;\"><a style=\"color: #0072e0;\" href=\"https:\/\/offers.hrdownloads.com\/avoiding-constructive-dismissal-claims-guide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Download the guide now for free!<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">While Citation Canada, formerly HRdownloads, uses reasonable efforts to maintain this site\/blog and its Services in an up-to-date fashion, it does not warrant the completeness, timeliness or accuracy of any information contained on this site\/blog or any of its Services, whether in English or French, and may make changes thereto at any time in its sole discretion without notice. All information and Services provided by Citation Canada, formerly HRdownloads, are provided to members and\/or users \u201cas is\u201d, \u201cwith all faults,\u201d \u201cas available\u201d and at the sole risk of members and\/or users. Our human resources information and recommendations are based on seasoned, best practice field experience and should not be construed as legal advice.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Constructive dismissal occurs when an employer makes a significant change to the essential terms of an employee\u2019s contract that is so intolerable the employee feels they have no choice but to resign in response. Since this resignation is the result of the change, it is not really voluntary and can be considered a termination. With the ongoing pandemic, companies have had to adapt very quickly to the changing environment. This rapid shift in priorities can lead to mistakes, some with severe consequences. Given the risks involved, how can employers avoid constructive dismissal claims?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3026,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-site.citationcanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3025"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-site.citationcanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-site.citationcanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-site.citationcanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-site.citationcanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3025"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/staging-site.citationcanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4461,"href":"https:\/\/staging-site.citationcanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3025\/revisions\/4461"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-site.citationcanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-site.citationcanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-site.citationcanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-site.citationcanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}