What To Do If You Are Being Forced To Resign

Your employer is pressuring you to resign. Maybe they’re making your work life unbearable. 

Maybe they’ve given you an ultimatum: resign or be fired. Maybe they’re offering a “resignation package” and saying it’s your only option.

Here’s what you need to know: being forced to resign is not the same as voluntary resignation. 

If your employer is pressuring you to quit, you may have a constructive dismissal claim  and resigning might cost you significant severance entitlements.

Before you sign anything or submit a resignation letter, understand your rights and your options.

Employers use various methods to pressure employees into resigning rather than terminating them directly. 

Why? 

Because if you resign voluntarily, they typically owe you nothing; no severance, no notice, no termination pay.

Common tactics include threatening termination for cause if you don’t resign, offering a small resignation package with pressure to sign immediately, creating an intolerable work environment to force you out, or giving you an ultimatum with an artificial deadline.

These are pressure tactics designed to make you give up your rights.

Constructive dismissal occurs when your employer makes your employment conditions so intolerable that you’re effectively forced to resign. Legally, it’s treated the same as if they fired you.

Examples include substantial reduction in pay or responsibilities, demotion without cause, hostile work environment or harassment, fundamental changes to your job duties, or forcing you to resign through threats or ultimatums.

If you can prove constructive dismissal, you’re entitled to the same severance and notice as if you’d been terminated without cause. Your resignation doesn’t eliminate these rights as long as you can show the resignation wasn’t truly voluntary.

If your employer presents you with a resignation letter or severance package, do not sign it on the spot. Take time to review it with a lawyer.

Employers often create artificial urgency: “this offer expires today” or “sign now or we proceed with termination for cause.” These deadlines are almost always artificial pressure tactics.

Once you sign a resignation letter or release, you’ve likely waived your right to sue for wrongful dismissal or constructive dismissal. You can’t take it back. Get legal advice before putting your signature on anything.

Start documenting the pressure campaign immediately. Keep emails, text messages, and written communications from your employer. Write down details of verbal conversations: date, time, who was present and what was said.

Document any changes to your working conditions, instances of harassment or hostile treatment, threats or ultimatums, and any meetings where resignation was discussed.

This documentation becomes critical evidence if you need to prove you were constructively dismissed or that your resignation was coerced.

If you simply resign without documenting the constructive dismissal or without making it clear the resignation is forced, you may lose your severance rights.

Courts generally treat resignations as voluntary unless you can prove otherwise. The burden is on you to show the resignation was coerced or that conditions were so intolerable you had no choice.

This is why legal advice before resigning is critical.

We regularly advise employees who are being pressured to resign. We can assess whether you have a constructive dismissal claim, review any severance offers, and negotiate appropriate compensation on your behalf. Don’t sign away your rights without getting proper legal advice first.

Contact us at 416.901.9984 or info@pintoshekib.ca for a confidential consultation about your employment situation.