What A Fundamental Breach Means
Your employer changed something you thought was a core part of your job.
A fundamental breach is where most constructive dismissal claims begin: your employer broke a core term of your contract.
What it means
It is a breach of an essential term of your contract, such as your pay, job title or reporting line, not a side detail.
Courts separate changes that strike at the heart of your role from adjustments that are unwelcome but minor.
Why it matters to you
This is the first of four conditions courts weigh, alongside how serious the breach was and how you responded.1
Name the exact term that was broken, such as the pay figure in your contract, rather than describing general unhappiness.
Which terms are considered fundamental
Pay, your actual duties and who you report to are treated as core terms. A change to any of them without your agreement deserves a close look.
See repudiatory breach for the seriousness test, and constructive dismissal for how these ideas combine into a full claim.
If you resigned because of a change like this, check your 60-day window on the deadline calculator.
If your employer broke a core term of your contract and you want a lawyer to act, send the date and what happened. An independent employment lawyer can review whether it is a case they can take on.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.
Common questions
How do I know which terms of my contract are fundamental?
Pay, job role and who you report to are treated as core terms. Minor administrative details usually are not, though your own contract still matters.
Is a single missed benefit enough on its own?
Usually not, unless that benefit was central to your agreement. A fundamental breach involves something that goes to the heart of why you took the job.
Sources
- The four conditions summarised in Bayer (M) Sdn Bhd v Anwar Abd Rahim require, first, that the employer breached a fundamental or essential term of the employment contract. Thomas Philip, Forced To Resign? This May Be Constructive Dismissal
Keep reading
If your employer broke a core term of your contract and you want a lawyer to act, send the date and what happened. An independent employment lawyer can review whether it is a case they can take on.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.