Constructive dismissal explained 

What counts

GOV.UK describes constructive dismissal as being forced to leave your job against your will because of your employer's conduct, where your employer's breach of contract is serious. Its examples are:

• Not paying you, or suddenly demoting you for no reason
• Forcing you to accept unreasonable changes to how you work, for example telling you to work night shifts when your contract is only for day work
• Letting other employees harass or bully you

One incident or many

The breach of contract may be one serious incident or a series of incidents that are serious when taken together. If you are relying on a series, a dated list of each event, what was said or done and who saw it is the foundation of the case.

Why speed matters

GOV.UK advises that you should try to sort the issues out by speaking to your employer. It also warns that if you do have a case for constructive dismissal you should leave your job immediately, because your employer may argue that by staying you accepted the conduct or treatment. Resigning is a big step, so get independent advice from a solicitor, Acas, Citizens Advice or your trade union first if you can.

Do you qualify to bring a claim?

GOV.UK says you must be classed as an employee and normally have worked for your employer for a minimum period, normally 2 years, to qualify to claim unfair dismissal at a tribunal, with exceptions for some automatically unfair reasons. Check the current qualifying period for your dates, because the rules in this area are changing.

Time limit and early conciliation

GOV.UK says that in unfair dismissal claims you usually have to claim within 6 months of being dismissed, or within 3 months if you were dismissed before 1 October 2026. You must also go through Acas early conciliation first, and the limit is paused only if you notify Acas within it. The date your employment ended is the starting point, so work it out carefully.

Preparing the claim

• Keep your contract, any changes to it, payslips, letters, emails and messages
• Write a chronology of each event with dates
• Record any grievance you raised and the response
• Keep a record of what you lost as a result, which later feeds into your schedule of loss