Constructive Dismissal advice pls

Hope someone can help.

I have applied for a job that is a level above the one I have now. It's a new title but effectively the same job as I have been doing for the past 3 years and my boss told me they had to create the new role and that I would get the job but they had to go thorugh a formal process.

So he asked me to write the job spec and the job was posted internally.

The boss who told me I'd get the job 2 months ago has now left(before I was interviewed).

They also conducted an external search. The process was handled very badly and has taken a long time.

I applied and was interviewed. They also interviewed other people. Now the job is being offerred to another person and I have been told I was not successful.

Is there anything I can do. I feel I am being pushed out and being victimised. I am with the company 15 years and they are a very large employer with Irish and international presence in the engineering sector.

I am feeling extrelemy stresed and getting more and more depressed about the situation. The role they are asking me to do is way below my level and not at all challenging.

Sounds like they are constructively dismissing me. What are the do's and don'ts in my situation. Should I go sick, or go into my job and not co-operate with the new person who has got the role.

Any help appreciated.

So they made a new job. You interviewed and you didn't get it. I'm not being smart but how do you think that constructive dismissal? Because you didnt get it?

Not getting a job doesnt mean you are being forced out of your current job. Think you really are just going to have to suck it up. Otherwise you are just going to make it look like sour grapes.

There are two different issues here and you shouldn't mix them up.

You applied for a job. You were told verbally that you were going to get it, by someone who did not have the authority to do that, and you didn't get the job. That is rotten luck and I am not surprised that you feel bad about it, but if the company advertised the job and had a fair process for interviewing and selecting the candidate, then you were not treated unfairly by the company.

Your last line hints that your job description has been changed as a result. If your job continues as it always was, with a different boss then you have not been treated unfairly.

If you feel that you have been effectively demoted, then maybe you have been treated unfairly. But, it is a very risky strategy for you to hand in your notice and then accuse them of constructive dismissal. I am not a HR expert and any advice you
get on the internet should be treated very cautiously.

If you do feel that you have been effectively demoted, my advice is to make a
proper formal complaint which is based on the facts of the job you were doing and the
job you are now being asked to do. Stay calm and factual and avoid sounding like this is just dissapointment that you did not get the job.

If you are serious about risking your income by resigning and taking a constructive dismissal case, I would strongly advice that you get proper legal advice from an expert. Worse case, you end up with no job, no compo and a legal bill.
I have read some newspaper reports of constructive dismissal cases and it doesn't sound simple to prove, espcecially if you do not go through the company HR grievance procedures.

peteb said:

So they made a new job. You interviewed and you didn't get it. I'm not being smart but how do you think that constructive dismissal? Because you didnt get it?

Not getting a job doesnt mean you are being forced out of your current job.

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My first reaction was similar to Peteb's but on reading the OP again, it looks like in this case, he IS being forced out of his current job. The job he was applying for was effectively his current job. As a result of not getting this job, he is being demoted to a different job.

Have I got that right?

hf_41 said:

Sounds like they are constructively dismissing me. What are the do's and don'ts in my situation. Should I go sick, or go into my job and not co-operate with the new person who has got the role.

Any help appreciated.

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My advice is not to do what you suggest above.
You may have to accept that the other person is better suited to the role.

Purple said:

My advice is not to do what you suggest above.
You may have to accept that the other person is better suited to the role.

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+1. And the advice that huskerdu gave above is good advice. Remember as well that you should do all you can to resolve this matter internally within the framework of the company before you try to bring the courts, the EAT, etc. into this matter. Sorry you didn't get the job. There are lots of us who know what that is like.