Constructive dismissal occurs where an employee resigns, but the
departure is treated in law as if there was a dismissal by the
employer. The legal principles involved in constructive
dismissal cases are not as straightforward as most employees or
employers would prefer, since each case is decided on its
particular facts.
In Potter v New Brunswick Legal Aid Services
Commission, 2015 SCC 10, the Supreme Court of Canada
considered whether an employee who was suspended with pay had been
constructively dismissed. The decision of the Supreme Court
of Canada in Potter builds on the approach established by that
Court in its 1997 decision in Farber v Royal Trust
Co. Court decisions since Farber have provided
further guidance on the types of unilateral changes by the employer
which amount to constructive dismissal. Most of the actions
by an employer that amount to constructive dismissal involve a
demotion of the employee; a substantial reduction in compensation;
or, a
