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Workplace expert Acas has published its 2016/17 Annual Report, which shows that its services continue to be in strong demand.

Acas Chair, Sir Brendan Barber, said:

"Demand for Acas' services continues to be strong. The past year has seen us deal with a large number of collective disputes such as London Underground, UK airports baggage handlers and British Airways cabin crew.

"Our annual report shows how our diverse range of services are continually adapting to meet the new and changing demands of the modern day workplace. This is especially important now as good workplace practice can help navigate the change that some organisations may have to go through due to Brexit.

"Good workplace relations and practice can also help to improve productivity in the workplace, reaping huge benefits to businesses, employers, employees and the economy. Latest independent research confirms that for every £1 Acas spends, there is a £13 benefit to the economy."

Key facts and figures from this year's annual report include.

• Acas continued to conciliate to prevent or resolve disputes between groups of workers and their employer with 744 national and regional disputes in a wide range of sectors in 2016/17. Acas helped to settle nine out of ten collective disputes.
• Acas' individual dispute resolution service also performed strongly with over 92,000 early conciliation notifications, of which only 17,500 progressed to a tribunal claim. Unfair dismissal was the top issue.
• The Acas helpline answered 887,000 calls. The top three topic categories were discipline, dismissal and grievances; contracts; and redundancies, lay offs and business transfers. Over 500,000 users asked 1.4 million questions on Acas' automated online helpline advice service.
• Acas trained over 13,000 people on a range of workplace topics including the latest changes in employment law. Acas also provided tailored training in around 1200 organisations reaching over 23,000 people. 82% of all organisations that were helped with problem solving reported improvements in workplace relationships.
• Acas is regularly invited to share good practice in employment relations internationally and recently finished an 18 month mediation and collective conciliation training project in Jordan, working with partners in the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Jordan Ministry of Labour and Adam Smith International.
• Acas' website visits increased to nearly 12 million - a 100% increase since 2013 and Acas guidance was accessed 8.4 million times.

The 2016 - 2017 Acas Annual Report is now available.

Notes to Editors

1. Acas stands for Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service. Acas provides free and impartial information and advice to employers and employees on all aspects of workplace relations and employment law. We support good relationships between employers and employees which underpin business success. We also provide good value, high quality training and tailored advice to employers. Our expertise is based on millions of contacts with employers and employees each year. Acas is an independent and impartial statutory body governed by a Council made up of members from business, trade unions, academia and the law.
2. New independent economic analysis, published in October 2016, shows that Acas' services continue to offer considerable value to the Great Britain economy, with an estimated economic benefit of £13 for every £1 invested in Acas. The analysis draws on the most recent evaluation data across all Acas services and the results will inform future thinking on how Acas can continue to offer the best value for money in the work it delivers.
3. For media enquiries or interview requests please contact Shumon Ali-Rahman, Senior Media Manager on 0207 210 3688 or email salirahman@acas.org.uk. For out of hours media enquiries please call the out of hours duty press officer on 020 7210 3600.