South Africa's Constitutional Court has delivered a significant judgment tightening the requirements for constructive dismissal, confirming that employees must exhaust internal grievance procedures before resigning and claiming dismissal. Constructive dismissal happens when an employee is forced to resign due to unbearable or hostile working conditions created by the employer. Although it is the employee who formally resigns, the law treats it as dismissal by the employer.  According to experts in the employment law practice at commercial law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH), the Court's determination clarifies that claiming constructive dismissal is a matter of last resort and should not be for the taking AND adds that that informal complaints alone are not enough. Bongiwe Zwane caught up with Lee Masuku, Senior Associate in Employment Law at law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr