1. Introduction and main points
This quarterly statistical bulletin uses the Acas helpline data capture system (DCS) data to highlight trends seen within the Acas helpline service. The latest data in this bulletin was collected in July to September 2024 (quarter 2).
All values in this bulletin are rounded to zero decimal places unless specified otherwise.
Main points
- the helpline service handled around 143,400 this quarter, which was roughly an 11% increase on the previous quarter
- about 85% of calls handled were employee-side calls, while around 11% were employer-side calls
- the most common call topic this quarter was discipline, dismissal and grievance, with around 38% of calls related to this topic
- the most common call subtopics this quarter were grievance procedure (15%), dismissal (15%), and non-payment or deduction of wage (15%)
- employees were most likely to call the helpline with queries relating to discipline, dismissal and grievance, diversity and discrimination, and wages and national minimum or living wage
- employers were most likely to call the helpline with queries relating to absences, sickness and stress, and holiday and working time
2. Who is calling the helpline?
Call volumes
The helpline handled around 143,400 calls in July to September 2024. This is roughly an 11% increase on the previous quarter and around an 8% decrease on quarter 2 last year. Values in Figure 1 have been rounded to 4 significant figures.
| Quarter | Call volume |
|---|---|
| July to September 2023 | 155,000 |
| October to December 2023 | 134,900 |
| January to March 2024 | 135,400 |
| April to June 2024 | 129,700 |
| July to September 2024 | 143,400 |
Employee-side calls include calls from employees, third parties on behalf of employees, agency workers, apprentices, and interns whereas employer-side calls include calls from employers and third parties on behalf of employers.
Of the calls handled this quarter, 85% were employee-side calls and 11% were employer-side calls. This is similar to the previous quarter, where 83% of calls were employee-side and 12% of calls were employer-side. In quarter 2 last year, 85% of calls were employee-side, while 11% of calls were employer-side.
The legend order reflects the order of the categories across the bars.
| Type of caller | July to September 2023 | April to June 2024 | July to September 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employee-side | 83% | 85% | 85% |
| Employer-side | 12% | 11% | 11% |
| Other | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Unknown | 3% | 2% | 2% |
3. What are people calling about?
Call topics
Each data capture system record is assigned up to 5 call topics. These are assigned manually by the adviser and based on the subjects discussed during a call. The most common call topics in this period were:
- Discipline, dismissal and grievance (38% of data capture system records)
- Contracts (17%)
- Wages and the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage (13%)
Data capture system records can be assigned up to 5 call topics, therefore percentages may not add up to 100%.
Table 1 highlights the change in the percentage of data capture system records with each call topic compared with the previous quarter and the same quarter in the previous year. A positive change means that a particular call topic was more common in the most recent quarter.
| Call topics | Percentage of helpline calls in July to September 2024 | Percentage point change versus April to June 2024 | Percentage point change versus July to September 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discipline, dismissal and grievance | 38.4% | -0.8 | 0.8 |
| Contracts | 16.9% | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Wages and the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage | 12.7% | 0.0 | -0.4 |
| Redundancies, lay offs and business transfers | 12.5% | 0.0 | 1.4 |
| Diversity and discrimination | 12.5% | 0.5 | 1.6 |
| Others | 10.2% | 0.6 | -1.3 |
| Absences, sickness and stress | 10.1% | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Holiday and working time | 6.3% | -0.3 | -0.1 |
| Maternity, paternity and adoption | 3.1% | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Hot topics | 0.1% | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Change from period to period tends to be very small though year-on-year changes can be more significant and highlight emerging issues. However, the percentage of calls about each call topic have remained stable over the last 12 months, which suggests the issues that have been affecting employees and employers over the last year have not changed much.
Call subtopics
Each call topic also has a number of subtopics. Up to 10 subtopics can be selected in each data capture system record. Figure 4 shows the most common subtopics this quarter. Figure 5 shows the most common subtopics last quarter. Figure 6 shows the most common subtopics in the equivalent quarter last year.
Data capture system records can be assigned up to 10 call subtopics, therefore percentages may not add up to 100%.
| Call subtopic | Percentage of calls |
|---|---|
| Grievance procedure | 15% |
| Dismissal | 14% |
| Non-payment or deduction of wage | 10% |
| Discipline procedure | 10% |
| Redundancy procedure | 9% |
| Disability | 8% |
| Absence | 7% |
| Other | 6% |
| Notice period or pay | 5% |
| Holiday entitlement | 5% |
| Call subtopic | Percentage of calls |
|---|---|
| Grievance procedure | 16% |
| Dismissal | 14% |
| Discipline procedure | 10% |
| Non-payment or deduction of wage | 10% |
| Redundancy procedure | 9% |
| Disability | 7% |
| Absence | 7% |
| Other | 6% |
| Holiday entitlement | 5% |
| Variation | 5% |
| Call subtopic | Percentage of calls |
|---|---|
| Grievance procedure | 16% |
| Dismissal | 13% |
| Non-payment or deduction of wage | 11% |
| Discipline procedure | 10% |
| Other | 8% |
| Redundancy procedure | 8% |
| Absence | 7% |
| Disability | 7% |
| Notice period or pay | 5% |
| Holiday entitlement | 5% |
4. What differences are there between employees and employers?
Employees and employers may call the Acas helpline for differing reasons. The figures below show the most common call topics and subtopics when employees call the helpline, compared with when employers call the helpline.
Data capture system records can be assigned up to 5 call topics, therefore percentages may not add up to 100%. The legend order reflects the order of the categories across the bars.
| Topic | Employee-side | Employer-side |
|---|---|---|
| Discipline, dismissal and grievance | 41% | 29% |
| Contracts | 17% | 19% |
| Wages and the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wage | 14% | 6% |
| Diversity and discrimination | 14% | 6% |
| Redundancies, lay-offs and business transfers | 13% | 14% |
| Absences, sickness and stress | 10% | 16% |
| Others | 10% | 10% |
| Holiday and working time | 6% | 12% |
| Maternity, paternity and adoption | 3% | 7% |
| Hot topics | Less than 1% | Less than 1% |
Figure 7 shows that in this quarter employees were more likely to call the helpline with queries relating to discipline, dismissal and grievance, diversity and discrimination, and wages and the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wage. Employers were more likely to call the helpline with queries relating to absences, sickness and stress, and holiday and working time.
Dismissal, discipline procedure, and redundancy procedure were amongst the common subtopics for both employees and employers in July to September 2024, as shown in Figures 8 and 9.
Data capture system records can be assigned up to 10 call subtopics, therefore percentages may not add up to 100%.
| Subtopic | Percentage of helpline calls |
|---|---|
| Grievance procedure | 17% |
| Dismissal | 15% |
| Non-payment or deduction of wage | 10% |
| Discipline procedure | 10% |
| Redundancy procedure | 9% |
Data capture system records can be assigned up to 10 call subtopics, therefore percentages may not add up to 100%.
| Subtopic | Percentage of helpline calls |
|---|---|
| Dismissal | 13% |
| Discipline procedure | 13% |
| Absence | 11% |
| Holiday entitlement | 9% |
| Redundancy procedure | 9% |
5. Glossary
Call volume
The number of inbound calls answered by helpline advisers within a specified time period.
Data capture system (DCS)
The helpline data capture system (DCS) is used by helpline advisers to capture information on a call such as time and date of the call, certain characteristics of a caller, the subjects discussed during a call, and any follow up actions from the call. Around 95% of helpline calls have associated data capture system records.
Employee-side calls
Calls answered by the helpline that were made by those who were employees, third parties on behalf of employees, agency workers, apprentices, and interns.
Employer-side calls
Calls answered by the helpline that were made by those who were employers, managers or third parties on behalf of employers and managers.
Call topics
High level subjects discussed during a call. Call topics are manually assigned to a call by advisers using the data capture system and each call can have up to 5 call topics assigned.
Call subtopics
More specific subjects discussed during a call. Each call topic has a number of associated subtopics advisers can assign to a call and each call can be assigned up to 10 call subtopics. A list of call topics and associated subtopics can be found in the background quality report for this data.
6. Quality
You can find more information in the background quality report on:
- strengths in the data
- limitations of the data
- appropriate uses of the data
- how the data were created