A new conflict management guide has been published to help avoid the 350 days a year of management time spent dealing with formal disciplinary and grievance cases and employment tribunal applications.

The CIPD ’Managing Conflict Guide for Line Managers’ is designed to help equip line managers with the skills and confidence to intervene at an early stage to prevent disputes from escalating to the point where the formal disciplinary or grievance procedures has to be used or an employment tribunal application lodged.

Ben Willmott, CIPD employee relations adviser, says: “Our research shows that only 38% of employers train their line managers in conflict resolution skills, despite the huge impact that disputes at work have on organisations.

“It is not just management time wasted and financial costs that employers must take account of, but also the personal cost of individuals under stress, employee absence, dysfunctional teams and damage to morale and productivity. In many cases employees will simply vote with their feet and leave organisations if conflict is not managed effectively. It is essential that employers ensure that line managers have the skills to manage conflict as part of their core people management skills.”