Filing a Complaint

A person can submit a complaint if you feel your employer hasn’t met the minimum standards put forth in the Employment Standards Act. Before filing a formal complaint please review the important information listed below.

Before filing a complaint with Employment Standards, you should consider that:

  • You must choose which course of action you want to take to settle your complaint. 
  • You cannot pursue more than one action on the same thing. If you choose, for example, to initiate legal action in the courts, Employment Standards may not be able to assist you.
  • If your complaint is for wages or termination pay, you may take action through the courts.  If you pursue termination pay through Employment Standards, you may not be able to take court action for unjust dismissal.

You should be aware that your complaint may be refused if:

  • You have not attempted to resolve it yourself;
  • There is no evidence to support the complaint;
  • There are other ways to resolve the complaint (i.e. grievance procedure under a Collective Agreement); or
  • Another remedy has been attempted or undertaken (i.e. court action).

To file a complaint, you will need to complete the Complaint Form and submit to the Employment Standards office. The form can be downloaded by visiting the forms and applications page