Constructive dismissal
Etymology
From "constructive" in its legal sense (Latin "construere," to build up) meaning "treated as such by construction of law, though not literally so," paired with "dismissal." The law "constructs" a dismissal that never formally happened, inferring it from the employer’s conduct.
noun phrase · /kun-STRUK-tiv dis-MISS-ul/
A resignation treated in law as a firing because the employer made conditions intolerable enough to force it.
What it names
A legal fiction that sees through appearances — an employee who "quit" was really pushed out — closing a loophole employers might otherwise exploit.
Example
Cutting her pay in half and moving her desk to the basement amounted to constructive dismissal, the tribunal found.
Related idea
Constructive dismissal is a forced resignation the law counts as a firing; an outright dismissal is an explicit termination by the employer — the doctrine exists precisely to reach the cases dressed up as voluntary quitting.
See also