COMPANY directors today voiced concern about the country's "burgeoning" compensation culture, warning that business was being damaged.

The Institute of Directors said the increase in applications to employment tribunals - up from 113,600 in 1998 to 161,200 last year - was hitting competitiveness.

Too many of the applications were "frivolous" and wasted employers' time and money, said the IoD.

The organisation blamed a change in social attitudes, an increase in employment legislation and well-publicised high pay-out cases which encouraged other workers to complain.

"The inexorable expansion of the compensation culture is undoubtedly hurting businesses' competitiveness," said IoD head of policy Ruth Lea.

"The increasing tendency to litigate damages trust between employer and employee and in the end no-one wins."

Meanwhile manufacturers are suffering in most UK regions, with orders lower and confidence down, a survey said today.

The survey of industrial trends, by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and business consultancy Business Strategies, showed steep falls in confidence in the North West, South West and the Midlands.