Acas Chief Executive, Anne Sharp, head of Britain's top employment relations service, highlights her views on the workplace challenges for 2014.

With organisations coming out of the recession, the coming year will continue to hold challenges for workplace relations including tensions around zero hours contracts and pay but opportunities for a greater focus on alternate forms of dispute resolution through a new Acas Early Conciliation service.Resolving disputes earlier: “This is an exciting time for Acas as it continues to be at the heart of resolving workplace problems in 2014. “We know from experience that it is always better to resolve disputes as early as possible. From April anyone thinking of making a tribunal claim will need to contact Acas first for the opportunity of support from our experts to resolve the dispute before it becomes a tribunal claim saving the time, cost and stress of going to a tribunal.“

“If used responsibly by employers, zero hours contracts can offer valuable flexibility for both them and employees. But we know from calls to the Acas Helpline that there's a lot of uncertainty on both sides around these contracts which leads to confusion. Employee callers in particular identified strong concerns about their terms being changed at short notice. That's why we welcome the Government's announcement of a consultation on zero hours contracts which will look at improving guidance for both employers and employees on their use. While the economy is showing signs of recovery, pay may well loom large on the employment relations agenda in 2014 as workers look to catch up for past pay restraint. Latest research shows that businesses that had established good relations with their workers were less likely to have been damaged by the recession. Line managers and supervisors are key to developing positive and successful relationships in the workplace. If employers get their workplace relations right then they are likely to have happier, more motivated staff and a more successful business.”