Acas confirms rise in number of workplace disputes

Conciliation service Acas has reported a rising number of workplace disputes.

Its annual report, published today, revealed that it received more than 900,000 calls last year.

The top three worries for employers and workers were discipline and grievance; maternity and paternity; and redundancy/layoff issues.

There was also a rise in the number of people using the Acas website, to 1.7 million visits.

The rise reflects the overall growth in tribunal cases. Official figures from the Employment Tribunals Service show that 115,039 applications were registered in 2005-06, compared to 86,181 the previous year.

However, there was a slight fall in the number of large-scale disputes that Acas dealt with, from 1,123 in 2004/5 to 952 last year.

Rita Donaghy, Acas chair said: "We have had another busy and challenging year. The challenge for us now is to continue to develop and maintain our high standards and help more organisations realise the benefits of good employment relations."