Constructive Dismissal: When to resign?

Nashira Abrahams - Dispute Management and Prevention Commissioner at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration or CCMA joined us on the line. We were talking about Constructive Dismissal. Constructive Dismissal is defined in Section 186(e) of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995, as: “ an employee terminated a contract of employment with or without notice because the employer made continued employment intolerable for the employee.” According to Labour experts, it is not for the employer to show that he/she did not introduce any intolerable condition - it is for the employee to show that he/she did. It is important for employees to ensure that they afford the employer a fair opportunity to rectify the “intolerable” situation, before they turn in their resignation and then claim constructive dismissal. It is also very important that employers do not deal with grievance received by employees lightly, and that they actively put in an effort to follow the formal grievance procedure or policy when they receive formal grievances from employees. For more information contact the CCMA on their call centre on 0861 16 16 16 or go to www.ccma.org.za