Federally regulated employee, EI, bankruptcy: which deadlines?
Labour law complaint deadlines in Quebec: the complete guide, or almost... Part 5 of 5
Author: Martin Pelletier, labour lawyer
Published October 17, 2026
Working for a bank, a telecommunications company, an interprovincial transport company or the federal government? Has your employer gone bankrupt? Here are your deadlines to act.
Before counting your days, read our main article: Dismissal, harassment, unpaid wages, workplace injury: which deadline for which recourse?
This article is part of a 5-article series:
The essentials: understanding and calculating your deadlines
Federal jurisdiction, employment insurance and bankruptcy (you are here)
In this article
You work for a federally regulated business
These remedies fall under the Canada Labour Code.
Table: Federally regulated businesses
Your situation | Deadline | Where to file |
|---|---|---|
Unjust dismissal (12 months or more of continuous employment, non-unionized, except managers; does not cover layoffs due to lack of work or discontinuance of a function) | 90 calendar days | Labour Program (Employment and Social Development Canada), from the date of the dismissal |
Unpaid wages or other amounts | 6 months | Labour Program, from the date on which the amount was due |
Your complaint for unpaid amounts is found to be unfounded | 15 calendar days | Request for review to the Labour Program, then appeal to the CIRB within 15 days, on a question of law or jurisdiction only (ss. 251.101 and 251.11) |
Reprisals because you exercised a right (labour standards or occupational health and safety) | 90 calendar days | Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), from the moment you became aware of the measure |
Your employer treats you as a self-employed worker or a subcontractor when you are actually an employee | 6 months | Complaint to the Labour Program (s. 127.1(8.1) of the Canada Labour Code) |
Harassment or violence in the workplace | No fixed deadline if you are still employed. 3 months after your employment ends if you have left | Notice to your employer or to the person designated in its policy |
Your employer does not follow the required harassment and violence process (investigation, measures, etc.) | No fixed deadline in the law: act quickly | Complaint to your supervisor, then to the Labour Program if it is not resolved (s. 127.1 of the Canada Labour Code) |
Federal election (any employee who is eligible to vote, even with a Quebec employer): your employer did not give you 3 consecutive hours to vote or cut your pay | Act quickly | Complaint to the Commissioner of Canada Elections (offence under the Canada Elections Act) |
Unionized employee of a federally regulated business: your union breaches its duty of fair representation (s. 37 of the Canada Labour Code) | 90 calendar days | Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), from the moment you became aware of the breach |
Discrimination | 1 year, with rare exceptions | Canadian Human Rights Commission, from the last event |
Good to know: if the harassment is related to a ground of discrimination (sex, origin, disability, etc.), you may also file a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, within one year, with rare exceptions.
Caution: do not wait for the end of your grievance or another proceeding before filing a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. In practice, the Commission generally requires that you first exhaust your grievance or internal remedies (s. 41(1)(a) of the Canadian Human Rights Act), but the one-year deadline keeps running in the meantime: according to the Commission, waiting for another proceeding is not a valid reason for filing a complaint late. So file your complaint within the year to protect your rights. The one-year deadline is calculated from the last event. Exceptionally, the Commission may accept a later complaint if you discovered the discrimination later or if circumstances beyond your control prevented you from acting.
Federal pay equity
If your federally regulated employer has 10 or more employees, it must establish a pay equity plan. If your employer established the plan on its own, without a committee, you have 60 days after it is posted to file a notice of objection, and 60 days after becoming aware of a contravention of the Act to file a complaint with the Pay Equity Commissioner (ss. 148 and 149 of the Pay Equity Act).
Are you a federal public servant?
Employees of the federal public service are subject to a separate regime, with deadlines that are often very short. Because your employer is the Government of Canada, you may also rely on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (for example, freedom of expression or the right to equality) in your grievance. The Charter does not set its own deadline: the deadline for your grievance applies.
Grievance (disciplinary measure, termination, collective agreement): the deadline set out in your collective agreement. The federal regulations provide for 35 days from the day you were notified of the measure or became aware of it, whichever is earlier, then 15 days to move to the next level after each decision (s. 68 of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Regulations). The grievance is taken to the final level, then referred to adjudication within 40 days of the final decision (s. 90) before the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (s. 209 of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act). Your bargaining agent must agree to represent you for a grievance about the collective agreement.
Complaint against your union or your employer (unfair labour practice, breach of the duty of representation): 90 days from the moment you became aware of the facts, before the same Board (s. 190(2)).
Appointment or staffing (abuse of authority in an internal appointment process): complaint received by the same Board within 15 days after receipt of the notice of appointment, proposed appointment, revocation or lay-off, or after the date of the public notice (s. 77 of the Public Service Employment Act and s. 10 of the Public Service Staffing Complaints Regulations). This is one of the shortest deadlines: act immediately.
Reprisals after a disclosure of wrongdoing (whistleblower): complaint to the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner within 60 days of becoming aware of the reprisals, unless the Commissioner accepts a longer period (s. 19.1 of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act). Note: filing this complaint prevents you from pursuing another remedy, such as a grievance, for the same reprisals. The Tribunal may, among other things, order reinstatement, lost wages and up to $10,000 for pain and suffering (s. 21.7).
Employment insurance after losing your job
After a dismissal, a resignation or a layoff, your application for employment insurance benefits may be denied, for example if Service Canada concludes that you voluntarily left your employment or that you were dismissed for misconduct. The deadlines to challenge are short:
Request for reconsideration: 30 calendar days from the date the Service Canada decision was communicated to you.
Appeal of the reconsideration decision: 30 days from the communication of the reconsideration decision, before the Employment Insurance Board of Appeal. The Board may grant additional time, but never more than one year after the date the decision was communicated to you (s. 43.11 of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act). The Board's decision may then be appealed to the Appeal Division of the Social Security Tribunal within 30 days (s. 54.2).
A delay may sometimes be accepted if you give a reasonable explanation, but you should not count on this possibility. The employment insurance decision is separate from your remedies against the employer: challenging one does not suspend the deadlines for the other.
Bankruptcy or receivership of your employer
If your employer goes bankrupt or is placed in receivership and owes you wages, vacation pay, termination pay or severance pay, two steps may allow you to recover part of these amounts: the federal government's Wage Earner Protection Program, which applies everywhere in Canada, including to employees of Quebec businesses, and your claim with the trustee or receiver.
Table: Bankruptcy or receivership of the employer
Your situation | Deadline | Where to file |
|---|---|---|
Application to the Wage Earner Protection Program (unpaid wages, vacation pay, termination pay and severance pay, up to $9,275 in 2026) | 56 calendar days | Service Canada, from the latest of these dates: the bankruptcy or receivership, the end of your employment or, in certain cases, the court decision recognizing the employer's situation (s. 9 of the Wage Earner Protection Program Regulations). Do not wait for confirmation from the trustee |
Your application to the Program is denied or the amount is disputed | 30 calendar days | Written request for review, from the date you are informed of the decision (s. 11) |
Late application to the Program | Exceptional | Accepted only if circumstances beyond your control prevented you from acting in time (s. 9(2)) |
Proof of claim with the trustee (bankruptcy) | No fixed deadline, but 30 calendar days if the trustee sends you a notice | Trustee. Once the deadline in the notice has passed, the amounts may be distributed without you; the court may extend this deadline if the delay is justified (ss. 124 and 149 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act) |
Wages for the last 6 months before the bankruptcy or receivership | Claim as soon as possible | Trustee or receiver: these amounts are secured up to $2,000 on certain assets of the employer, ranking ahead of most other creditors (ss. 81.3 and 81.4) |
Contact us if you need help with these steps: the two steps are carried out in parallel and their deadlines run at the same time.
Our tips to avoid losing your rights
Deadlines are generally counted in calendar days, weekends and statutory holidays included, and a deadline that ends on a Saturday is not always extended: aim for the Friday.
Write down the exact date of each event: dismissal, last act of harassment, receipt of a decision.
Do not wait for negotiations with the employer to end: file your complaint, as it does not prevent a settlement.
If in doubt about the deadline, go with the shortest one.
Conclusion
Deadlines in labour law are short and vary depending on your employer, your status and the type of problem. A mistake of a few days can cost you a remedy. Please remember that this is not legal advice and that every case must be assessed individually.
Important notice: this article is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws change and every situation is different: it is important to consult a lawyer before making a decision or letting a deadline pass. Online tools and artificial intelligence can also be wrong; do not rely solely on an answer obtained on the Internet or from a chatbot.
We strongly encourage you to contact us without delay, so that the applicable deadlines are met and your claims are not dismissed.
Legislative references
Official texts consulted, up to date as of August 12, 2026 (Quebec) and September 30, 2026 (federal):
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982
Department of Employment and Social Development Act, S.C. 2005, c. 34
Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act, S.C. 2003, c. 22, s. 2
Public Service Employment Act, S.C. 2003, c. 22, ss. 12 and 13
Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Regulations, SOR/2005-79
