New Brunswick Employment Standards Employer Complaint Response

The situation

Daniel, 47, owns Coastal Bistro Ltd, a restaurant with 24 staff in Moncton, NB. In February 2026, a former kitchen manager he terminated in October 2025 files an Employment Standards complaint claiming unpaid vacation pay and wrongful dismissal (inadequate notice). The NB Employment Standards Officer contacts Daniel requesting payroll records, attendance logs, and explanation within 10 business days.

Daniel's problem: He gave the kitchen manager 3 weeks notice (above the 2-week statutory minimum for someone with 18 months of service), but he calculated the vacation pay on base wages only, not including the tips that were pooled and distributed weekly. Has he correctly calculated vacation pay? Was 3 weeks notice sufficient? What records does he actually need to provide?

The NB PETL officer is neutral and cannot advise Daniel. He calls an employment lawyer in Fredericton, quoted CA$4,500 for "officer investigation response and LEB representation if needed." For a restaurant already operating on 8% margins, this is significant.

What Daniel doesn't know: NB vacation pay is 8% of gross wages (including tips where they form part of wages), if the kitchen manager's pooled tips were tracked and distributed as wages, they should be included in the vacation pay calculation. The 3-week notice is probably sufficient (18 months = 2-week minimum, he gave 3). The real risk is the vacation pay calculation.

Who receives this

NB SMB employers in industries with high Employment Standards complaint rates: (1) Hospitality (restaurants, hotels), tip pooling and seasonal employment create vacation pay complexity; (2) Construction, sector-specific exemptions from some provisions that employers incorrectly apply; (3) Retail and service businesses, minimum wage compliance, part-time/casual employment notice; (4) Agriculture, seasonal worker provisions. All are SMBs with fewer than 50 employees and no in-house HR or legal teams.

Why the agency will not advise you

NB PETL cannot advise employers on how to structure their response to its own Employment Standards investigations. No OEA-equivalent free government employer advisory service exists in NB (unlike Ontario where OEA collapses this). The LEB adjudication step creates a two-stage document need: officer investigation response + LEB appeal preparation.

Key facts, with sources

• New Brunswick's Employment Standards Act (SNB 1982, c E-7.2) sets minimum employment standards for non-unionised workers including minimum wage, notice of termination, vacation pay, overtime, and protection against unjust dismissal. When an employee files a complaint with the Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, an Employment Standards Officer investigates the complaint, requesting records from the employer, attempting to resolve the dispute through mediation, and if unresolved, issuing a decision. Either party unsatisfied with the officer's decision can appeal to the Labour and Employment Board for adjudication. The LEB is an independent administrative tribunal. Source: Employment standards — Government of New Brunswick · Investigations of Complaints — Employment Standards NB
• New Brunswick employers have no equivalent of Ontario's Office of the Employer Adviser (OEA), there is no free government advisory service for NB employers responding to Employment Standards complaints. The NB Department of PETL conducts neutral officer investigations and cannot advise employers. Peninsula Canada (peninsulacanada.ca) provides private HR and employment standards advisory services in New Brunswick, but this is a paid private service. NB employment lawyers charge CA$3,000–$8,000 for Employment Standards complaint defence. New Brunswick's minimum hourly wage increased to CA$15.65 per hour as of April 1, 2025, employers who failed to update payroll are a specific compliance risk group. Source: New Brunswick Labour Standards: Inspections and Complaints — Peninsula Canada · New Brunswick Labour Law Guide 2026 — Connecteam
• New Brunswick's Employment Standards Act provides unjust dismissal protection for employees with more than 6 months of continuous employment. An employer who dismisses an employee without just cause must provide minimum statutory notice (ranging from 2 weeks at 6 months to 8 weeks at 10+ years of service). An unjust dismissal complaint can result in: reinstatement + back pay, or compensation in lieu. The Act also provides vacation pay (minimum 8% of wages), overtime pay (1.5x after 44 hours/week), and holiday pay (the equivalent of one day's regular pay for each general holiday). NB has 10 general holidays. The construction industry has sector-specific exemptions that differ from general employment standards, a common source of complaints from construction employers. Source: Global Employer Handbook Chapter New Brunswick — CPHR PEI · Employment Standards — NB Common Front

When to bring in a professional

Self-serve responses fit routine cases: clear facts, amounts a business can absorb, and a deadline still ahead of you. Bring in a licensed professional when the amount at stake is large relative to their fee, the facts are genuinely disputed, criminal exposure is possible, or the deadline has already passed. A short paid consultation to sanity-check your plan is often worth it even when you handle the filing yourself.

All sources for this guide

1. Employment standards — Government of New Brunswick
2. Investigations of Complaints — Employment Standards NB
3. New Brunswick Labour Standards: Inspections and Complaints — Peninsula Canada
4. New Brunswick Labour Law Guide 2026 — Connecteam
5. Global Employer Handbook Chapter New Brunswick — CPHR PEI
6. Employment Standards — NB Common Front