Constructive dismissal: when resigning counts as being dismissed

Constructive dismissal is when you resign because your employer has seriously breached your employment contract, and the law treats your resignation as a dismissal. The legal test is that you ended the contract “in circumstances in which [you are] entitled to terminate it without notice by reason of the employer’s conduct”. If you can show that, you can bring an unfair dismissal claim, even though you were the one who left.

It is not a separate right to leave whenever work becomes unpleasant. You need a serious breach, you need to resign because of it, and you need to avoid carrying on in a way that suggests you accepted it. Acas says these claims can be difficult to win, and Citizens Advice says not many succeed, so it pays to understand the rules before you hand in a resignation letter. This page covers Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own law.

What counts as a serious breach

Acas and Citizens Advice give examples that can amount to a serious breach:

• not being paid the agreed amount, regularly or without good reason;
• being bullied, harassed or discriminated against, or your employer allowing it;
• a grievance your employer refuses to look into;
• a demotion;
• taking away contractual benefits, such as a company car;
• unreasonable changes to your hours, work pattern or place of work without your agreement;
• not making sure your working environment is safe;
• not giving you the support you need to do your job.

It can be a single serious incident, or a series of things that are serious taken together.

When a change may not be a breach

Citizens Advice notes that a tribunal could find changes to your hours, place or pay fair if your contract specifically allowed the change, your employer consulted you first, or the change was an alternative to something worse, such as redundancies. That is why the wording of your contract matters so much. A mobility clause or a flexibility clause may let your employer do things that would otherwise be a breach.

Who can claim

• Employees. Constructive dismissal is a form of unfair dismissal, so you need to be an employee.
• Two years’ service, for now. You usually need two years’ continuous employment, which Citizens Advice says includes your statutory notice period. For employment ending on or after 1 January 2027, the qualifying period becomes six months.
• No minimum service for some reasons. You can claim with less service if the reason you resigned related to pregnancy, childbirth or maternity leave, health and safety, whistleblowing, or asserting your rights under the Working Time Regulations or to the National Minimum Wage. If you resigned because of discrimination, you can bring a discrimination claim, which needs no qualifying service. See discrimination at work.

Before you resign

Resigning is a big step, and both Acas and Citizens Advice suggest trying to fix things first.

1. Raise it informally, with your manager or, if they are the problem, their manager or HR.
2. Raise a formal grievance in writing. This gives your employer a chance to put things right, creates a record, and fits what a tribunal will expect. Under the Acas Code of Practice, unreasonably failing to raise a grievance can reduce compensation by up to 25%. See grievances and disciplinaries.
3. Keep a record: dates, what happened, who was there, emails and messages.
4. Consider early conciliation or mediation. Citizens Advice lists Acas early conciliation as a way to try to settle without going to court.
5. Work out your finances. Citizens Advice suggests working out a budget before resigning without another job to go to.

Citizens Advice also says that in some situations, such as repeated bullying or feeling unsafe at work, leaving without notice may be the best option.

Do not wait too long

GOV.UK warns that if you stay in the job, your employer may argue that you accepted the conduct or treatment. There is no set number of days. Raising a grievance and waiting for the outcome is common, but carrying on as normal for a long time after the breach, with no protest, gives your employer more room to make that argument. This is one of the most common points of dispute, so it is worth getting advice on timing.

How to resign

• Put it in writing. Acas and Citizens Advice both say to explain clearly in your resignation letter that you are leaving because of what your employer did. That letter is often the key piece of evidence.
• Notice or no notice. Acas says that after a serious breach you may want to leave straight away instead of working your notice. Not working notice could itself be a breach of your contract, but it can sometimes be justified. Leaving with notice does not automatically defeat a claim; the law covers resigning “with or without notice”.
• Keep copies of your letter and any reply.

Time limits

Citizens Advice says that if your job ended on or after 1 October 2026, you must start tribunal action within six months minus one day of the date your job ended. If it ended on or before 30 September 2026, it is three months minus one day. The date is usually the last day of your notice period, or the day you resigned if you did not give notice.

You must normally notify Acas before claiming; doing so within the limit pauses the clock. See Acas early conciliation and employment tribunal.

Settlement offers and constructive dismissal

If your employer offers a settlement agreement, Acas explains that pre-termination discussions are usually protected under section 111A of the Employment Rights Act 1996, and that being offered a settlement cannot itself be used to claim constructive dismissal. The protection can fall away if there is improper behaviour, such as harassment, intimidation, discrimination, or undue pressure like not allowing reasonable time to consider the offer. If you sign a settlement agreement, Acas says you cannot then bring a constructive dismissal claim.

What you could get

If the tribunal finds you were constructively and unfairly dismissed, compensation follows the unfair dismissal rules: a basic award, worked out like statutory redundancy pay with a week’s pay capped at £751, and a compensatory award for your loss, capped at the lower of £123,543 or 52 weeks’ pay for dismissals on or after 6 April 2026. See unfair dismissal.

What to check in your contract or letter

• Pay, bonus and commission clauses, to show what you were promised and what you were paid.
• Hours, place of work and job title, including any mobility clause or flexibility clause allowing changes.
• Variation clause allowing the employer to change terms, and whether any change was agreed.
• Benefits clauses, such as a company car or health cover, and whether they are contractual or discretionary.
• Grievance procedure, its time limits and who hears grievances and appeals.
• Notice clause for your notice to the employer, and any garden leave clause.
• Deduction clause if your pay has been cut or withheld.
• Restrictive covenants that could affect your next job.
• Any letter or email recording the change or conduct you are complaining about.

When it helps to speak to a solicitor

Acas advises getting legal advice before resigning, and it usually helps most before the letter goes rather than after. A solicitor can tell you whether what has happened is likely to be a serious breach, whether you have qualifying service, how to word your grievance and resignation, and what the claim may be worth. EmployedRight’s free document check can help you find the clauses above first.

Common questions

What counts as constructive dismissal?

It needs a serious breach of your contract by your employer, and you resigning because of it. Acas and Citizens Advice give examples such as not paying you the agreed amount, bullying or harassment the employer allows, a demotion, refusing to look into a grievance, removing contractual benefits, or unreasonable changes to your hours or place of work without agreement. It can be one serious incident or a series of things.

Do I need two years' service to claim constructive dismissal?

Usually, yes, if your employment ends before 1 January 2027; from then the qualifying period for unfair dismissal becomes six months. You do not need two years if the reason is automatically unfair, such as pregnancy, whistleblowing, health and safety or asserting the minimum wage, or if you resigned because of discrimination. Citizens Advice says the two years includes your statutory notice period.

How long can I wait before resigning?

There is no fixed period, but delay is risky. GOV.UK warns that if you stay, your employer may argue you accepted the conduct or treatment. Raising a grievance first is common and usually expected, but carrying on as normal for a long time after a breach can weaken a claim. A solicitor can advise on timing in your situation.

What is the time limit for a constructive dismissal claim?

Citizens Advice says that if your job ended on or after 1 October 2026, you must start tribunal action within six months minus one day of the date it ended. If it ended on or before 30 September 2026, the limit is three months minus one day. You normally have to notify Acas first, which pauses the clock if you do so in time.

Can I use a settlement offer as evidence of constructive dismissal?

Generally not. Acas explains that pre-termination settlement discussions are protected under section 111A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 for unfair and constructive dismissal claims, and that being offered a settlement agreement cannot itself be the basis for a constructive dismissal claim. The protection can be lost if there is improper behaviour, such as undue pressure or discrimination.

Is constructive dismissal hard to prove?

Acas says a constructive dismissal claim can be difficult to win, and Citizens Advice says not many claims succeed. You have to show a serious breach, that you resigned because of it, and that you did not accept the breach by delaying. Even then, the tribunal looks at whether the dismissal was unfair. Keeping a written record from early on helps.

Sources

1. Acas: Constructive dismissal checked Fri Oct 02
2. Acas: Unfair dismissal checked Fri Oct 02
3. Citizens Advice: Claiming constructive dismissal (England) checked Fri Oct 02
4. Citizens Advice: Claiming constructive dismissal (Scotland) checked Fri Oct 02
5. Citizens Advice: Deciding whether to resign checked Fri Oct 02
6. GOV.UK: Dismissal, your rights (constructive dismissal) checked Fri Oct 02
7. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 95(1)(c) checked Fri Oct 02
8. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 108 (qualifying period) checked Fri Oct 02
9. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 111 (time limit) checked Fri Oct 02
10. Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 4 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/559 checked Fri Oct 02
11. Acas: Settlement agreements, confidentiality and section 111A checked Fri Oct 02
12. Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures checked Fri Oct 02
13. Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, section 207A checked Fri Oct 02
14. Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2026, SI 2026/310 checked Fri Oct 02

This guide is general information about employment law in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). Northern Ireland has its own employment law. It isn't legal advice and doesn't take your circumstances into account.