Can an employer force an employee to quit with or without notice?

The case law has established that acts of an employer may entitle an employee to quit, with or without notice. The resignation is treated as constructive dismissal of the employer with the employer committing a repudiatory breach of the contract. The test for constructive dismissal was set out in Faber v. Royal Trust Co. 1997 CanLII 387 (SCC), [1997] 1 S.C.R. 846 (S.C.C.) in which the court wrote, in part: “A constructive dismissal occurs when an employer makes a unilateral and fundamental change to a term or condition of an employment contract without providing reasonable notice of that change to the employee. Such action amounts to a repudiation of the contract of employment by the employer whether or not he intended to continue the employment relationship. Therefore, the employee can treat the contract as wrongfully terminated and resign which, in turn, gives rise to an obligation on the employer’s part to provide damages in lieu of reasonable notice.” (emphasis added)