Constructive Dismissal - redundancy?

LucyBLockett

Without going into too many details I was bullied horrendously in my last role.  The last straw was when my job was downgraded without consultation.  I resigned immediately and successfully claimed constructive dismissal, receiving an extremely generous package from the employer.  As my reference is the standard she worked from x to x date can I say I was made redundant when asked why I left at interviews as I feel this is what effectively occurred?

Diamandis

It's not really what occurred, some reference forms specifically ask the reason for leaving. What is the ex employer likely to put in that field if asked? 

Undervalued

LucyBLockett said:

Without going into too many details I was bullied horrendously in my last role.  The last straw was when my job was downgraded without consultation.  I resigned immediately and successfully claimed constructive dismissal, receiving an extremely generous package from the employer.  As my reference is the standard she worked from x to x date can I say I was made redundant when asked why I left at interviews as I feel this is what effectively occurred?

But it is not what happened!

Redundancy is when the job no longer needs doing. Strictly speaking it is a post, not a person, that becomes redundant.

When you say "successfully claimed constructive dismissal" do you mean you won at an employment tribunal or that you reached a settlement with the employer? Assuming it was the latter, any settlement will have been made without admission of liability and will most likely be subject to strict confidentiality clauses. Most settlement agreements include an agreed reference and you imply yours is in the most basic form. Although your former employer may well be prevented from saying anything else, a refusal to answer questions is almost an answer in itself.

Assuming you did settle then you need to keep strictly to the agreed terms otherwise you will end up in a whole load of trouble.

caeler

Why don't you just say you resigned.  People resign all the time and it is rarely questioned.  "Time to move on".  "Looking for a new challenge".  

TELLIT01

If the job was downgraded it can be argued that if the OP wouldn't accept the lower grade job then they, or the job, was redundant.  Certainly the job they had been in no longer existed.

Andy_L

What wrong with saying "my job was downgraded without consultation.  I resigned"?

Takeaway_Addict

As Andy put just be honest. You resigned because they downgraded the job without consultation. No need to mention the package you took after

[Deleted User]

Whilst I can understand why you are asking - It would be a risk to say you were made redundant if not truly the truth.  I can only recall one time in a fixed term contract for a big company when actually given notice by the employer as the project was coming to an end, because I wanted to leave earlier in the end, there was a line added to x work here x to x and that extra line said ‘Resigned’. 
I’ve been in a situation after being made redundant of interviewing employers asking what was the process like and how did it happen in small talk.
Equally I’ve encountered small company to small company can talk and one time a reference was requested whilst I was still in employment and a copy of my CV and covering letter seriously made it’s way to my current employer apparently so my advice is never fabricate anything or misguide someone.
I recently applied to a big company (and whilst unsuccessful) was partly pleased to see they had done away with long application forms online and the usual questions of why leaving were no longer being asked even so it might be a worry you are concerned with that doesn’t apply.

yksi

Andy_L said:

What wrong with saying "my job was downgraded without consultation.  I resigned"?

This. I think you're overthinking it. As others have noted, prospective employers do not usually delve deeply once you give them a reason. Be honest. The role was changed and was no longer the position you were originally offered, so you resigned. This is a 100% perfectly respectable reason to leave a job. And as Takeaway_Addict noted you do not need to mention the fight nor the payout.

LucyBLockett

Thanks for your comments.

oh_really

As undervalued has asked, are you talking an ET outcome or a settlement agreement and what have you signed by way of a non-disclosure agreement?