Constructive dismissal happens when your employer does not fire you — but makes your working conditions so intolerable that you have no reasonable choice but to resign. Demotion without reason, withdrawal of responsibilities, bullying, or fundamental breach of your contract can all give rise to a valid claim.
Under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977, constructive dismissal occurs where an employee is entitled to terminate their contract because of the employer's conduct — meaning the employer has fundamentally breached the employment contract or has made continued employment intolerable.
There are two tests under Irish law. The contract test — did the employer breach a fundamental term of your contract? The reasonableness test — even without a clear breach, was the employer's conduct so unreasonable that resignation was the only reasonable response? Important: you must generally raise a grievance before resigning or your claim may fail.
Constructive dismissal claims are harder to win than unfair dismissal claims because you must justify leaving. Before you resign, speak to a solicitor. The timing of your resignation, whether you raised a formal grievance, and how you word your resignation letter can significantly affect the outcome of a claim.
Declan had been a senior account manager in a Cork technology firm for six years. When he raised a formal complaint about his direct manager's conduct, he was told the matter would be investigated. It was — superficially. His manager received a verbal warning. Declan received something different.
Within a month of the complaint, Declan was moved to a different team with no explanation, stripped of his client portfolio, given no meaningful work, and excluded from team meetings he had previously chaired. He raised a second formal grievance about his treatment. He received an acknowledgment letter and nothing further.
After four months of this, Declan resigned. He did not want to — he had a mortgage and a young family. But the environment had become untenable and was affecting his health.
His solicitor argued that the company had fundamentally breached his contract by stripping him of his core responsibilities and had acted so unreasonably in response to a legitimate grievance that resignation was the only rational response. The case settled before the WRC hearing.
Free assessment. No obligation. Matched to an employment solicitor in your county.
Tell Us What Happened