REV Automotive Group Inc. has lost its challenge to a $5,202.67 wage assessment after two unsuccessful cheques left its required appeal deposit unpaid beyond the statutory deadline.
In REV Automotive Group Inc. v Director of Employment Standards and David Nicoll, 2026 SKLRB 40, dated July 23, 2026, Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board vice-chair Patricia Warwick upheld an adjudicator’s refusal to hear the company’s wage appeal. Delivering a cheque before the deadline was not enough when the payment failed and the money was not received in time.
The ruling leaves the existing wage assessment in favour of David Nicoll intact. It is not a second $5,202.67 award, and the board did not conduct a new hearing on whether the underlying wages were owed.
A timely notice, but an unsuccessful payment
The Director of Employment Standards served the assessment on REV on August 25, 2025. The deadline for commencing an appeal was September 16, 2025. Under the provisions applicable to the case, an employer had to file written grounds within 15 business days and deposit the assessed amount, subject to a prescribed maximum of $500, within that same period.
REV delivered its written appeal and a $500 cheque on September 9. Its representative warned that the account was closing and asked the director’s staff to deposit the cheque immediately. He also said he had offered a debit or credit card payment, which staff would not accept.
The record showed that the director attempted to deposit the cheque the next day, September 10. It was returned because the funds were frozen or had not cleared. The director learned that on September 19 and notified REV that same day.
A replacement cheque submitted September 19 also failed. A third cheque provided on September 25 cleared, but that was after the appeal deadline. The adjudicator consequently found there was no jurisdiction to consider the wage appeal and upheld the assessment.
No power to excuse incomplete compliance
REV appealed to the board on a question of law. It argued that handing over the first cheque while sufficient funds were available fulfilled the deposit requirement, and that any delay in processing it should not be held against the company.
The board disagreed. Its role was to determine whether the adjudicator correctly identified and applied the law, not to create an exception to a statutory deadline. Section 2-75 of The Saskatchewan Employment Act made the deposit a condition of eligibility to appeal and required it before the appeal period expired.
Drawing on earlier decisions, Warwick held that these requirements were mandatory. Neither the adjudicator nor the board had express statutory authority to extend the period. Treating the initial cheque as sufficient compliance would effectively grant an extension the legislation did not permit.
REV also invoked a Supreme Court procurement decision to argue that an accepted cheque suspended the payment obligation and could relate back to its delivery date. The board found that decision did not support the proposition and was irrelevant to the wage-assessment appeal.
Responsibility remained with the company
The board found the director’s next-day attempt to deposit the first cheque reasonable. REV knew the bank account was closing on September 10 but did not ensure funds would remain available even the day after it delivered the cheque. It could have arranged another cheque or money order in time.
The refusal to accept an instant card payment did not change the result. The assessment notice told REV to provide a $500 appeal deposit payable to the Minister of Finance, and the board found the company had notice of the acceptable payment method. Nor did the late discovery that the first cheque had failed confer power to extend the deadline.
Warwick dismissed the appeal and confirmed the adjudicator’s decision. The lesson of the ruling is confined to the statutory appeal requirements considered: an on-time written notice did not preserve REV’s appeal when the accompanying deposit was not successfully paid within the required period.
