Funding to tackle work disputes

The government has announced plans to invest an extra £37m in preventing workplace disputes reaching industrial tribunals.

The scheme, announced by employment minister Pat McFadden, will allow the government's conciliation service ACAS to offer assistance at any point of a dispute and improve its telephone helpline service.

The move was welcomed by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, which estimates the average employer spends 350 days in management time each year dealing with disciplinary cases and workplace disputes.

"Hopefully this investment signals the start of a gradual culture change in how conflict at work is managed, from one where litigation is frequently the first step to one where mediation and more informal dispute resolution in general becomes much more commonly used," said Mike Emmott, employee relations adviser at the CIPD.