Of the 162,932 different complaints to tribunals, unfair dismissal continues to be the largest category of complaint – responsible for almost a third of applications to tribunals, followed by applications under the Wages Act (almost one quarter), according to new figures by Acas.

The number of applications reaching employment tribunal has decreased for the third consecutive year and total applications handled by Acas have fallen since 2001 from 104,000 to 94,000, a reduction of almost 10%.

At the same time, numbers withdrawn or settled before reaching the tribunal stage have increased, with 77% going no further than the Acas stage, compared to 75% last year.