Airy, Airy, Au Contraire

The biggest British election campaign, in terms of the number of individuals standing for a single parliamentary seat, is nearly over.

After polling booths close at 22:00 BST on Thursday, the counting of votes begins.

But with 34 candidates and a ballot paper that is nearly a metre long, it is expected to lengthen the time that takes compared to most parliamentary election counts.

People may still be waiting for a result while tucking into their breakfasts, rather than waking up to find out who has won.

Larger table areas are being set up at the count venue of Clacton Leisure Centre so the long ballot papers can be verified, sorted into piles and then counted.

Voting takes place at polling booths across the constituency, external from 07:00 until 22:00.

The first ballot boxes are expected to arrive 10 minutes after the polls close. With the constituency consisting of rural villages and seaside towns, the last ones should arrive by 23:30.

Records have already been broken for this election:

the most candidates in one British election

the most Independent candidates (20) to stand in a single election

the longest ballot paper in British electoral history

Some 79,785 people are registered to vote in this by-election. Of those, 10,716 have already received a postal vote.

In 2024, the general election result for Clacton was announced at about 04:00, but there were only nine candidates then.

This by-election result is not expected until between 05:00 and 07:00 because the count process is expected to be slower with the longer ballots.

The stage is set?

Usually a raised stage is erected for the candidates to stand on when the result is announced. However, one large enough for them all and strong enough to take their weight could not be found.

So instead the 34 will line up on the floor of the sports hall in alphabetical order to hear how many votes they received.

After the result only the winner will make a speech, which will last up to three minutes.

“They’re trying to discharge her constructively. Do you know what Constructive Discharge means?” She asked.

As soon as I heard the term ‘Constructive Discharge,’ I knew I’d never seen it on a vocabulary quiz.

“No. What does it mean?” I asked.

She explained.

“Constructive discharge is a fancy way of saying “being forced out.” It’s not good. And if you’re not a lawyer or in human resources, you’ll probably learn what it means when it’s happening to you.”

“Oh my God. I’ve seen this my entire career and never knew it even had a name.” I thought.

You’ve seen constructive Discharge too. You may have experienced it. We’ve all made choices to avoid it.

Constructive discharge defined

“We can’t fire you, but we’ll make you so miserable you’ll quit, and then we won’t have to pay your unemployment.”

Then there’s the textbook definition:

“A constructive discharge occurs when your employer has made working conditions unbearable, forcing you to resign.”

Or as one person put it.

“I didn’t get handed a pink slip, but when you’re not wanted, people have a way of letting you know.”

HR isn’t always the secret police.

Employees aren’t always victims of evil-doers.

However, employers push employees out all the time to maintain and protect the, “We didn’t do anything wrong, YOU did,” power structure.

Constructive Discharge looks like this:

— Meeting invitations slow to a trickle, and you’re excluded from emails and generally looped out of what’s going on.

— People stop talking to you or stop talking when you walk in.

— Your emails don’t get answers, or they arrive too late to be of value.

— Suddenly, your work is not good enough, though nothing about your work has changed.

— Reviews, once good or even glowing, are now mediocre or bad.

— Instead of a bonus, you get a Performance Improvement Plan.

— Warnings and write-ups start so they can justify your eventual termination with documentation of your “poor performance”

— Your work, clients, assignments go away, or they overwhelm you with work.

— The words “Set up to fail” were practically invented to describe this scenario.

Constructive Discharge is illegal

It isn’t easy to prove you’re a target, and it’s even more challenging if you don’t even know constructive discharge is a real thing.

If you’ve ever experienced this and don’t fully understand what’s happening to you beyond knowing you’re in the process of being excommunicated, it can be hell. It’s not uncommon for the experience to leave long-lasting scars.

Talk to anyone who’s ever been through it. They’ll tell you.

Knowing constructive discharge exists and how it’s used gives you power to predict what’s coming and to protect yourself.

Seeing the endgame helps you in two ways.

You know what to expect. Having a sense of what’s coming next is enormously empowering. You can go on the offensive and protect yourself. Constructive discharge works to crush your ego, making you feel you did something wrong and deserve this treatment.

Without strategy, you end up being a miserable pawn in your employer’s endgame.

Remember, they’re almost certainly building a case to fire you in the event the hellscape they create for you doesn’t persuade you to quit.

If you’re getting pushed out, and you know what to look for you can prove constructive discharge and you can get unemployment benefits, be released from payback obligations on a signing bonus, and protect your mental health.

You’re not crazy, incompetent, or a failure. This is real and it’s carefully executed to leave you holding the bag and feeling like you did something wrong.