This is one of the most difficult situations to address properly. We would encourage you to call us right away if this is happening to you.
Unfortunately, some employers, perhaps knowing their financial obligations to employees in the event of termination, attempt to make working conditions unbearable so employees will leave voluntarily. They refrain from firing an employee, to try to reduce notice period damages, because they do not believe they have just cause for dismissal, or are unsure about being able to prove just cause. If an employee leaves voluntarily, he or she might be deemed to have quit and would not have a claim for wrongful dismissal damages. Employers might give unfair negative performance reviews, or demote an employee to a lesser job, or assign tasks to an employee that are plainly unreasonable. Some employers might try to minimize their financial costs by driving employees to resign.
This creates a real challenge for employees. Employees need to be very careful in these circumstances. Employees should be careful not to refuse “lawful orders” from employers, or risk being found to have been “insubordinate” or to otherwise have given cause for termination. The employer’s conduct could be characterized as a “constructive dismissal” but the employer’s conduct could also be deemed supportable or justifiable if a trial occurs, in which case the employee’s refusal might be seen as a “quit” or “voluntary resignation”.
This is an area where employees really need to understand their legal rights before acting, or risk being found to have “quit”.