Transferred so that you would quit?
The new posting felt designed to make you quit, not to meet a need.
The new posting came with a worse title in practice, a hostile new manager, or duties clearly beneath what you were hired for. It felt less like redeployment and more like a push toward the door.
Some transfers are not about business needs at all. When the real purpose looks like forcing someone to resign, it can become a constructive dismissal claim.
That means being forced out so you feel you have no choice but to resign.
How do the four conditions apply to a transfer like this?
The Bayer test applies four conditions to a transfer like this.1
- Did the transfer breach a fundamental term?
- Was the breach serious enough?
- Did you resign because of it?
- Did you act without unreasonable delay?
A transfer engineered to be humiliating or impossible to accept, rather than necessary for the business, can satisfy the first two conditions on its own.
What signs point to a hostile motive behind the transfer?
Timing right after a dispute, a role well beneath your seniority, or being the only person transferred while similar colleagues stayed put are all worth noting.
A transfer that was never properly explained, especially when you asked directly, adds weight to an argument that it was not genuinely necessary.
What should you preserve if you decide to resign?
Keep the transfer letter, your request for an explanation if you made one, any reply, and your original job description for comparison.
Resign as soon as you realise the transfer is untenable, since delay can be read as accepting the change.
How long do you have once you resign?
You have 60 days from your resignation date to file a Section 20 representation.2 This is the written claim you lodge to say your dismissal was unfair, and it goes to the Director General of Industrial Relations.
Your employer must show the transfer was a genuine, good faith business decision, not a device to force your resignation.3
What should you do this week?
Write out the exact sequence, from any dispute or complaint to the transfer notice to your resignation, with a date for each step.
If distance or commute was also a factor, read about being sent to a distant workplace. Then use the deadline calculator to check your window.
If you resigned over the transfer and want a lawyer to act, send the sequence of events and your dates to an independent employment lawyer. They can review whether it is a case they can act on.
You resigned after a transfer that looked designed to push you out. An independent employment lawyer can review the sequence of events and whether it is worth pursuing as constructive dismissal.
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
Does the transfer have to be obviously punishing to count?
No. Even a transfer dressed up as a normal business move can be challenged if the surrounding facts, such as timing and communication, suggest it was meant to push you out.
What if I initially accepted the transfer before deciding to resign?
Accepting a transfer for a short time while you assess it does not ruin a claim, but a long delay before resigning can weaken the argument that you acted promptly.
Should I ask for the transfer in writing with a stated reason?
Yes. A written request for the business reason behind the transfer, and any reply, creates a record, whether they explain it clearly or avoid answering.
Does it matter if colleagues were also transferred around the same time?
It can help your employer if others were transferred for a clear, shared business reason, but it does not clear a transfer that treated you differently or worse.
Sources
- The four Bayer conditions ask whether a breach was fundamental, sufficiently serious, the reason for resignation, and acted on without delay. Thomas Philip
- An employee who believes they were dismissed without just cause may file a Section 20 representation within 60 days of the dismissal. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
- In an unfair dismissal case the burden of proof rests on the employer to show just cause or excuse for what happened. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
Keep reading
You resigned after a transfer that looked designed to push you out. An independent employment lawyer can review the sequence of events and whether it is worth pursuing as constructive dismissal.
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.