Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board Rules on Timeliness of Grievance

Date: 202 60121 File : 566-02-51805 Citation: 2026 FPSLREB 6 [NAME] and Employment Board Act and [NAME] Act Before a panel of the [NAME] and Employment Board [NAME] and [NAME] (D epartment of i ndustry) Employer Indexed as [NAME] v. [NAME] (Department of Industry) In the matter of an individual grievance referred to adjudication Before: Brian Russell , a panel of the [NAME] and Employment Board For [NAME]: [NAME] , counsel For the Employer: [NAME] \y 657 Decided on the basis of written submissions, filed May 12 and 26, June 9, and November 17 and 21, 2025 .

REASONS FOR

DECISION I. Individual grievance referred to adjudication [ 1 ] This decision is about the timeliness of a grievance. [ 2 ] [NAME] (“[NAME]”) filed a grievance against [NAME] (“the employer”) alleging it did not properly pay him overtime during employment contracts that began in the summer of 2021 and ran to November 29, 2021. [ 3 ] The employer denied the grievance at the final level of its grievance procedure, alleging that it was filed outside the deadline in [NAME]’s collective agreement, which was between the [NAME] and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada for the Audit, Commerce and Purchasing group and expired on June 21, 2022 (“the collective agreement”). The parties agreed to bypass the first and second levels of the grievance process. [ 4 ] [NAME] referred the grievance to adjudication on February 26, 2025, and subsequently amended the reference to adjudication to include the correct grievance form on April 3, 2025. On May 12, 2025, the employer filed an objection with the [NAME] and Employment Board (“the Board”), claiming that the grievance was filed outside the time limit provided in the collective agreement. [ 5 ] The parties engaged in a settlement conference on November 7, 2025. Unfortunately, it did not resolve the matter, so I met with the parties on November 10, 2025, to discuss the employer’s objection. [ 6 ] Under s. 22 of the [NAME] and Employment Board Act (S.C. 2013, c. 40, s. 365) the Board may decide any matter before it without holding an oral hearing. The information in the parties’ written submissions allows me to decide the issue without a hearing. [ 7 ] For the reasons that follow, I allow the employer’s objection and deny the grievance.

II. Summary of the submissions [ 8 ] [NAME] was hired as a casual EX-03 employee from May to August 2021. After that contract, he was hired as a [NAME] in November 2021 for a term until September 2024. [ 9 ] The employer began an investigation into [NAME]’s conduct some time in the spring of 2024. On July 3, 2024, [NAME] discovered that he had not been paid overtime for lengthy periods in 2021. [ 10 ] He filed this grievance on August 2, 2024.

III. Summary of the arguments [ 11 ] The employer argues that the grievance was filed beyond the 25-day time limit outlined in the collective agreement. It argues that the grievance was denied because it was filed late and that I am without jurisdiction to hear this matter because the grievance is untimely. [ 12 ] The employer argues that [NAME] ought to have known about the circumstances that gave rise to the grievance during the summer of 2021 to November 29, 2021, when he received his pay stubs. It argues that [NAME] is sophisticated enough to read and understand a pay stub, and it requests that I deny the grievance without a hearing. [ 13 ] [NAME] argues that the grievance was filed on time. He argues that he became aware of the circumstances that gave rise to the grievance on July 3, 2024, while preparing for a meeting with the investigator. He contends that he filed his grievance on August 2, 2024, which was within the 25-day time limit outlined in the collective agreement. [ 14 ] During the case management conference with the parties, [NAME] conceded that the grievance was late but argued that the events that led to filing it were unusual. [ 15 ] Specifically, he was hired as a lead negotiator for a priority identified by the Canadian federal government. He worked in the [NAME] and did not question the amount that he was paid. When he joined the [NAME], the employer had issues trying to figure out how to pay him, but he continued to work.

IV. Reasons [ 16 ] I find that the grievance is untimely. [NAME] conceded that his grievance was filed outside the 25-day time limit outlined in the collective agreement. [ 17 ] I find that he ought to have known about the issues with his pay between the summer of 2021 and November 2021, after he received his pay stubs. [ 18 ] For all of the above reasons, the Board makes the following order: (The Order appears on the next page)

V. Order [ 19 ] The objection based on timeliness is allowed. [ 20 ] The grievance is denied. January 21, 2026. Brian Russell, a panel of the [NAME] and Employment Board