Acas's 2022-2023 Annual Report has this week revealed a significant increase in demand for its dispute resolution services over the past year. 

The report outlined that Acas was involved in 621 collective disputes between employers and groups of workers. This figure amounts to a 22% increase compared to the year 2021 to 2022, and the leading cause of the disputes was pay. The organisation's individual dispute resolution service dealt with 105,754 notifications for early conciliation. In over 72,000 cases staff helped to find a resolution. The report estimates that this saved the UK up to £100 million due to resulting reduced demand on employment tribunals - though this saving still dwarfs the estimated total cost of workplace conflict, which is said to be at £28.5 billion per year. 

 

Employers and employees seeking advice on workplace rights continue to turn to the Acas website and helpline. Acas's web pages were accessed over 14.4 million times in 2022 to 2023, and employers and employees made nearly 650,000 calls to Acas's helpline. Following helpline calls, 87% of customers were reportedly able to take clear action.

Acas Chief Executive Susan Clews put the increased demand down to "high inflation, the cost-of-living crisis and staff shortages" which she said has "seen workplace tensions and large-scale disputes dominate the headlines, which have led to an increase in demand for our dispute resolution services."

WorkSmarter clients may of course access our Live HR Support for the first port of call in helping them with their workplace issues.