Donna Ivey, deputy area director of Acas, with her team at the Paddock Wood office

by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Pay and redundancy continued to be the top issues for an arbitration and conciliation service.

Demand for help from Acas South East in serious workplace disputes such as British Airports Authority (BAA) jumped in the past year by 91 per cent to 44 cases.

The agency serves employers and individuals across Kent.

Largely spared by the government in the bonfire of the quangoes, it dealt with almost 18,000 disputes between individuals and their employers through its pre-claim conciliation service, up 80 per cent.

This aims to resolve workplace issues before they escalate into costly and stressful tribunal claims.

The proportion of cases where no claim was then made to an employment tribunal - such as the one at Ashford - rose from 70 per cent to 74 per cent meaning 13,158 cases were prevented.

The number of claims Acas received for conciliation via employment tribunals fell 15 per cent to 75,000.

Multiple claims - where more than one employee has exactly the same issue - such as equal pay claims, however, remained high.

Unfair dismissal continues to be the most common reason for individual conciliation cases.

Paul Beard, Acas South East area director, said: "There have been a number of high profile collective disputes and it's encouraging to see employers and trade unions willing to get round the negotiating table to reach agreement."

He added: "We know that tackling issues in the workplace as early as possible can save time, money and stress for all involved.

"Our main priority for this year will be to continue supporting economic growth by helping organisations manage their people well, prevent disputes and resolve them where they do occur."

Acas also trained more than 35,000 employers and employees in good employment practices, a rise of 16 per cent.