Condonation in Ontario: Why Waiting Too Long Can Cost You a Constructive Dismissal Claim

If your employer makes a fundamental, unilateral change to your job — a significant pay cut, a demotion, a stripped-down role — you generally have to respond within a reasonable time. Wait too long without objecting, and Ontario law may treat your continued silence as condonation: an implied acceptance of the change that can bar you from later claiming constructive dismissal.

This is one of the most common ways a genuinely strong constructive dismissal claim gets weakened or lost entirely — not because the change wasn't serious, but because too much time passed before anything was said.

What Condonation Means

Condonation is the legal idea that continuing to work under new terms, for long enough without objection, can be treated as accepting those terms — even if you never said "I agree" out loud. Once a court finds condonation, it becomes much harder to later argue the change was a constructive dismissal, because your own conduct suggested otherwise at the time.

The logic is straightforward from the employer's side: if an employee keeps showing up, keeps doing the job under the new terms, and raises no objection for an extended period, it becomes reasonable for the employer to assume the employee has accepted the situation.

There's No Fixed Deadline

A common misconception is that there's a specific number of days or weeks you have to decide. There isn't. How much time is "too long" depends on:

• The nature and severity of the change — a more serious, more obviously fundamental change tends to demand a quicker response
• Your explanation for any delay — a reasonable, documented reason, such as seeking legal advice, a medical issue, or negotiating directly with your employer, is treated differently from unexplained silence
• Whether you said anything at all — even an informal objection early on can matter, compared to complete silence
• Your individual circumstances — financial pressure to keep working while you sort out your options is a real consideration, though it doesn't eliminate the risk entirely

Because there's no bright-line rule, the safer assumption is always to act sooner rather than later.

What Doesn't Automatically Count as Condonation

• Continuing to work for a short period while actively seeking legal advice
• Raising an informal or written objection, even if you keep working afterward
• Attempting to negotiate a resolution with your employer in good faith
• A brief delay explained by genuinely difficult personal circumstances

None of these guarantee protection on their own — but they generally put you in a stronger position than saying and doing nothing.

What Increases the Risk of a Condonation Finding

• Continuing to work for an extended period with no objection of any kind
• Accepting a new title, job description, or compensation structure in writing without qualification
• Requesting or accepting benefits tied to the new arrangement, such as a new bonus structure or perks, without reservation
• Waiting until well after the fact — sometimes only once another dispute arises — to raise the original change for the first time

What to Do Right Away If You Believe You've Been Constructively Dismissed

1. Don't wait to "see how it goes" for an extended period before deciding on a course of action
2. Put your objection in writing as early as possible, even briefly, if you intend to keep working
3. Avoid signing anything that formally confirms or accepts the new terms
4. Get legal advice promptly — a lawyer can help you understand how much time you realistically have given your specific facts
5. Keep a written record of the date the change occurred and any communications since

Frequently asked questions