| 1. The behaviour and conduct of employees is the most important cause of employment disputes.
2. Bullying or harassment is one of the main causes of dispute and the least likely to be settled internally.
3. An organisation’s success in tackling bullying or harassment at work depends largely on the behaviour of line managers.
4. Staff spend an average of 10.5 days managing disciplinary and grievance cases each year.
5. Managers trained in mediation skills are likely to have fewer disciplinary and grievance cases.
6. An average of 12.8 days each year are spent preparing for employment tribunals – 4 days for line managers, 7.7 days for HR staff and 4.7 days for in-house lawyers.
7. Employment tribunals cost employers an average of £7,484 per year in settling out of court, paying compensation, taking legal advice and recruiting replacements for employees who have left following a dispute.
8. There has been a significant increase in the number of employers turning to HR departments for advice on addressing disputes. The use of external law firms has also increased.
(Source: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development – Managing conflict at work, Survey Report, October 2004)
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