Constructive dismissal: key issues

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that a district nurse, who was summarily dismissed on capability grounds and then reinstated following a successful appeal, with full back-pay, was constructively dismissed when she resigned over the terms of her return to work.

Her employer’s handling of the disciplinary process, combined with the subsequent imposition of several conditions (including a training programme and a competency assessment), amounted to a repudiatory breach of contract.

This checklist sets out the keys issues a business needs to understand about constructive dismissal.