The CIPD had earlier suggested that the jobless total would reach 2.65 million this year.

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The CIPD is also warning that there could be a dramatic increase in industrial action.

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The CIPD says shire councils could also introduce different pay for their teachers depending on whether they worked in a rural or urban area.

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Last month, the CIPD reported that the public sector had been shedding jobs at five times the rate previously predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

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The average employer spends 350 days a year of management time dealing with formal disciplinary and grievance cases as well as employment tribunal applications, said the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which welcomed the move.

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"Hopefully this investment signals the start of a gradual culture change in how conflict at work is managed, from one where litigation is frequently the first step, to one where mediation and more informal dispute resolution in general becomes much more commonly used, " said Mike Emmott, CIPD's employee relations adviser.

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