Acas has published its latest annual report which reveals the full extent of the current recession and the pressure it has placed on relationships between employers and employees.

The report clearly shows that the economic downturn has had a huge effect on employment relations. Acas took part in over 78,000 conciliation cases last year, very nearly a fifth (18%) over last year.

Cases involving unfair dismissal claims were up significantly, rising by almost 12,000 to 55,000, an increase of 22%. This rise is particularly striking, as cases involving unfair dismissal claims had fallen over the past two years.

Acas also reported that their helpline was far busier than it had been in previous years, handling between 10 and 15 thousand calls per week. In fact, from April this year the helpline extended its hours of operation to cover evenings and Saturday mornings in order to cope with the increased demand.

The main reason for the higher volume of calls was people seeking information on redundancy. The proportion of calls on this topic doubled compared to last year, showing that the fear of being made redundant is looming large in many people’s minds.

Chair of Acas Ed Sweeney remarked: “Our helpline - which acts as a barometer for the state of the UK workplace - has seen a huge rise in demand for advice on redundancies. In the face of these challenges, our focus has been on getting the right advice to businesses and employees so they can ultimately save time, money and stress.”

Throughout the past year, Acas has also seen a large increase in the popularity of its redundancy training courses, with the number of courses taken almost doubling in 2008/09 in comparison with 2007/08. The report clearly shows that the current recession has had a definite negative impact on both the job market and the level of goodwill between employers and employees.

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