Constructive dismissal (1) - general principles and specific terms - Section 95 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 sets out the circumstances in which an employee is considered to have been dismissed for the purposes of bringing an unfair dismissal claim. As well as including an express dismissal by an employer. it covers the situation where an employee resigns in circumstances in which he, or she is entitled to terminate the contract of employment without notice, more commonly referred to as a " constructive dismissal". In the first of two Guidance Notes on this issue, we consider the conditions that must be satisfied before an employee can successfully show that he or she was constructively dismissed. While it has long been established that a "contractual" test is to be applied to that question, the development of implied terms such as the mutual duty of trust and confidence has ameliorated the apparent harshness of a strictly legalistic approach. Our second Guidance Note will consider constructive dismissal within the general framework of an unfair dismissal claim, dealing with the peculiar issues that arise from a dismissal instigated by ail employee rather than an employer. It will also touch on constructive dismissal in the, context of discrimination claims and claims for a redundancy payment.