Changes To Terms Of Employment Must Be Contested On A Timely Basis

In two recent decisions, the Superior Court ruled that employees who do not contest changes to their working conditions in a timely manner cannot claim that they are victims of constructive dismissal. The Court thus recognized that if substantial changes are made to the essential terms of a contract of employment and the employee concerned disagrees with them, the employee must notify the employer of his or her objections or resign within a reasonable time.

The NOTION of constructive dismissal

Constructive dismissal occurs when an employer unilaterally decides to make substantial changes to the essential terms of an employee's contract of employment without the employee's consent. The courts have held that employees who leave their jobs because they do not agree with such changes are considered to have been dismissed rather than to have resigned. The courts have determined that even though such employees are not formally dismissed by their employers, the situation