[Question] Resignation or constructive dismissal

[Phoebe]

On the 4th August 2011 my boss did somehing illegal... He invaded my
privacy by using YYY's administration system to look at my "Call
History". He was checking whom I was communicating with while using my
cellphone.The problem is this was my private cellphone.

He even interrogated a colleague (ZZZ) regarding a private
SMS I sent him that morning, which was very embarassing for him. He
decided to go to HR with his complaint... nothing was done about this
incident.

I decided not to actively persue this as I could see that nobody cares
and it would have made life difficult for me at work.

I eventually decided to resign as it became more and more difficult to
work with people who do not trust me even after 5 years at the
company. I also reported to the HR Manager during my exit interview
that my manager's actions was the major reason for my resignation. I
left XXX at the end of November 2011.

A few months later I found out that nothing had been done about the
manager's indiscretions. I requested, via email, that Tip-Off start an
investigation as they were in charge of sensitive investigations for
the company. They ignored me and did not even respond to my email
request. I eventually sent my complaint to YYY.

YYY launched an investigation into the matter and found enough
evidence to support my claim. They forced XXX to investigate
as well. I only managed to find out from YYY that the accused was
found guilty in a DC hearing. XXX still refuses to communicate
with me regarding my request for compensation.

I cannot afford Legal assistance as I've been unemployed since November.
I'm not sure if I can follow the route of 'Constructive Dismissal' or
apply for 'Condonation'.

I need help/advice.

[kleva]

There are definately more qualified people out there to answer in detail and would probably also need more information as this is very limited.

Some of the limited knowledge I can provide is as follows:
1. Read the full contents of the Labour Acts - They are available online at www.acts.co.za
2. Constructive Dismissal requires you to "prove" that that the company or manager/boss made working conditions impossible, and usually with the "intent" to force you to resign. Burden of proof here is all on you.
3. CCMA doesn't cost money to query and they can give the first line of information, without legal fees/costs - see what the feedback is from them.

[Dave A]

Probably a good idea to read Anthony Sterne's excellent blog entry on constructive dismissal. Winning a constructive dismissal case is far from straight forward.

I agree with kleva - approaching the CCMA won't cost you anything more than your time and is probably the next step.