Extra money will be ploughed into the helpline and advice service provided by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS). The FPB is also urging small businesses to protect themselves by putting in place the correct management practices, using its new Employment Guide for 2008, and by taking advantage of its legal helpline. The government funding is part of a package designed to simplify the dispute resolution process and save businesses over £175 million a year. It comes following research, carried out by the Employment Tribunal Service, which showed that the number of tribunal claims increased sharply last year. During 2007, there was a total of 132,577 employment tribunal claims – a leap of more than 15% from 2006. The biggest increases came from equal pay claims, which, with 44,013 claims, rose by a massive 154.9%. Sex discrimination cases virtually doubled, from 14,250 claims in 2006 to 28,153 over the last year.
FPB News