Conciliation service Acas handled more than 600 collective disputes in the year to March 2024, and pay was the leading cause.
According to its annual report, 2023-24 was “another exceptionally demanding year” thanks to pressures caused by inflation and cuts in real pay.
Acas resolved 94% of 618 disputes between employers and groups of workers, it said.
It also dealt with 104,884 applications for early conciliation, with seven in 10 of these individual cases avoiding the need for an employment tribunal.
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Again, pay was the most common issue driving individual claims, followed by unfair dismissal and disability discrimination.
The Acas helpline answered 578,463 calls from employers and employees across the UK. Discipline, dismissal and grievance were the most common topics it handled.
Its website attracted almost 18 million views during the year as employers and employees sought advice on workplace rights.
The service also trained more than 40,000 people in various aspects of workplace practice.
Over the course of the year, Acas spent £60.6 million on delivering its services. However, it reduced the cost of doing so considerably, with collective conciliation cases costing 30% less to resolve, individual cases down by 11%, and arbitration hearings by 51%.
Acas chair Clare Chapman said: “Our staff have worked hard to help spread good work practice and resolve conflict in a challenging economic climate.
“The past 12 months have seen continuing inflationary pressures and a cut in real pay across the economy that are key drivers for collective disputes.
“The service dealt with over 100,000 cases during the year and over one million in the last decade. These successes have benefitted businesses and workers across Britain.”
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