ACAS: Employment tribunals up by nearly a quarter

Wed 6 Aug 2008 at 2:51 PM

Acas, the employment relations service has reported employment tribunals have risen by nearly a quarter in the last 12 months.

Most commonplace were equal pay issues, followed by unfair dismissal claims – sex discrimination claims were most prevalent among its workload where discrimination had been alleged.

The service is soon to be affected by changes in employment law: "Much of our work over the next 12 months will focus on expanding our services and intervening earlier in individual disputes," said chief executive John Taylor.

He noted the service had exceeded its targets for the year, which he said was because of improvements made within organisations through better communication and employment relations.

Acas has urged businesses to avoid tribunal costs by considering mediation to solve workplace disputes.

Ed Sweeney, chair of Acas commented recently: "Resolving an issue at an early stage instead of clearing up its eventual consequences saves money, time and grief."

click here for the latest employment opportunities