The number of employment-related calls made to Allianz's Lawphone helpline has increased by 24 per cent since July.

David Vine of Allianz Legal Protection said: "We were hearing of an average of one or two redundancies being considered per call, but the average we are hearing now is more like ten or 20."

Mr Vine added the number of redundancy calls made to Lawphone, from both private and commercial consumers, is expected to increase towards the end of the year as redundancy consultations come to completion.

He urged that even more people should take advantage of the service because it ensures that employers act responsibly, using "sensible and compliant" channels.

Meanwhile, the threat of job losses has sent consumer confidence to an all-time low, according to figures released by market research company Nielsen and the British Retail Consortium.

Around 80 per cent of people said they think it will take longer than a year for the economy to get better and six out of ten claimed they were concerned about their "bad" cash status.

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