Insurance group Allianz has reported record numbers of calls from employers to their legal hotline asking for advice regarding redundancy issues.

The helpline, Lawphone, is receiving 70 to 80 calls a day from employers seeking advice on what they can legally do to cut costs in the current economic climate.

"Some 60% of calls during the three months to the end of September were about employment issues - mainly from employers seeking advice on how to make staff redundant. This is three times the level of 12 months ago," said David Vine, business development manager at Allianz.