2009-07-23

By Editor, CIR

The full depth and severity of the recession and its knock on effects on the employment landscape are revealed in a new report published today, Thursday, by Acas, the employment relations service.

In its annual report -- which provides a snapshot of the UK job and employment market -- figures show that Acas received over 78,000 (net) conciliation cases from the Employment Tribunal Service -- almost a fifth (18%) more than last year.

There was also a significant (22%) increase in unfair dismissal conciliation cases received by Acas over the last year, compared to a decrease in the number of these cases over the last two years. In total, Acas received 55,000 cases which involved a claim for unfair dismissal this year, a rise of almost 12,000.

Calls to the Acas helpline on redundancy have steadily risen over the last year. The helpline --which received around 10-15 thousand calls per week in 2008/9 -- saw a 100% increase in the proportion of calls requesting advice on redundancy.

Home     More News


Other stories you may find of interest:

Bank boards to face increased risk responsibilities
A review of corporate governance in the UK banking industry may bring sweeping changes to the way banks are run

SMEs face raft of legal changes
The Forum of Private Business has launched a guide to help small businesses comply with upcoming changes to employment law

Energy insurance market to soften in 2010
Insurer competitiveness and high capacity will make for a softer market for energy firms in 2010