Federal labour complaint deadlines.

What this does and does not cover

This calculator adds 90 days or 6 months to a date you enter, following the Canada Labour Code and the federal Interpretation Act. It does not decide whether you are eligible, whether the Board will accept a late complaint, or whether your complaint will succeed. No date extensions are computed. If the last day falls on a holiday, Interpretation Act s.26 may allow the next day that is not a holiday; that is not computed either, so file early.

Unjust dismissal, s.240

A person who has been dismissed and considers it unjust may complain in writing if they have completed 12 consecutive months of continuous employment and are not a member of a group of employees subject to a collective agreement (s.240(1)). The complaint must be made within ninety days from the date of dismissal (s.240(2)). Under Interpretation Act s.27(5) the day of dismissal is not counted, so day 1 is the next day. The Head may extend the period only where a complaint was made in time to a government official with no authority to deal with it and the person believed the official had that authority, or in prescribed circumstances (s.240(3)). If you have made a complaint on substantially the same facts under s.246.1(1) or s.247.99(1), s.240(1.1) bars this one unless that complaint was withdrawn.

Unpaid wages, s.251.01

A complaint of non-payment of wages or other amounts owed under Part III must be made within six months from the last day on which the employer was required to pay them (s.251.01(2)(a)). Any other Part III complaint runs six months from the day the subject matter arose (s.251.01(2)(b)) and is not computed here. This calculator counts six months as the same day of the month six months later, or the last day of the month if there is no such day.

Duty of fair representation, s.97

A complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board must be made not later than ninety days after the day the complainant knew, or in the Board's opinion ought to have known, of the action or circumstances giving rise to it (s.97(2)). For a complaint that a union breached s.95(f) or (g), s.97(4) adds steps: you must first present a grievance or appeal under the union's own procedure with ready access to it, the union must have dealt with it unsatisfactorily or failed to deal with it within six months after you first presented it, and the complaint must be made within ninety days after the first day you could have made it. The Board may hear an unpresented complaint in the limited cases in s.97(5); those are not computed. This tool covers the federal Board only; British Columbia's time limit for these complaints was not checked, so it is not included.

Sources, read 29 September 2026: Canada Labour Code s.240, s.251.01, s.97; Interpretation Act s.26 and s.27.