Your rights if you were forced out

What is the legal test the courts use?

The law does not treat every unpleasant resignation as a dismissal. The Supreme Court in Wong Chee Hong v Cathay Organisation set the standard, called the contract test.¹

The question is whether your employer breached a term going to the root of your contract, not simply whether they treated you badly. Feeling unhappy at work is common. A breach at the foundation of the contract is narrower.

What counts as a fundamental breach?

Unpaid or reduced salary without agreement is a common example, since pay is a core term. A demotion in title or duties, a forced transfer to an unreasonable place, or sustained harassment can also qualify.

A single written warning or an ordinary instruction from a manager usually will not meet the bar. The breach must strike at something central to your role.

What are the four conditions from the Bayer case?

A court checks four conditions in order. There must be a fundamental breach, it must be serious enough to go to the root of the contract, you must have resigned because of it, and you must have resigned without delay.³

Missing any one weakens a claim, even if the treatment felt unfair. Acting soon after the breach, not months later, protects the fourth condition.

What if your situation only partly fits?

Some situations combine smaller issues, such as a demotion followed by exclusion from meetings. Together they can still meet the test, if each element connects back to your contract.

An unpaid bonus you were contractually owed sits differently from a bonus that was always discretionary.

What should you do this week?

Write down the date of the breach and the date you resigned, then check both on the deadline calculator. Read how to prepare your case and what to do before you resign.

You have 60 days from resigning to file a Section 20 representation.² If you want to bring a claim, a lawyer can apply the four conditions to your facts and file it for you if there are grounds.