Q: After a recent round of job cuts I was given a number of tasks that aren’t on my contract. Then last week I was told those tasks were no longer needed and I am being made redundant. Can I claim constructive dismissal?
A: The key question here is whether or not this is a genuine redundancy. If your employment has ended as a result of being made redundant, then the employer will need to show firstly the reason for the termination and secondly that a fair and reasonable procedure was followed.
If they are unable to show this, then the termination may be deemed to be unfair.
Constructive dismissal arises where there has been a serious breach of the contract by the employer, thereby causing the employee to resign as they can no longer continue to work there.
I think it unlikley that this will apply in your circumstances. You were given a number of different tasks that weren’t on your original contract, but this may have been required for sound business reasons because of a reduction in headcount and because the work had to be spread across remaining employees.
It doesn’t appear that you have reasonable grounds to claim constructive dismissal — and it would be too late anyway.
You need to ascertain whether or not this is a genuine redundancy and seek advice accordingly. It may be better to question the position during any consultation process. If subsequently made redundant, at least you’d then receive redundancy pay and notice, which you wouldn’t if you just resigned.
You can then take advice and see whether you may have grounds for an unfair dismissal claim. You have three months from the date of termination from which to bring a claim and I would suggest you take advice.
