Give small businesses a break from employment red tape, FSB argues

Date: 19th May 2009

The government has been urged to give small businesses a break from ongoing changes to employment laws in order to allow them to get on with dealing with the current economic situation.

Following on from the British Chambers of Commerce's (BCC) calls for the European Parliament to put business at the heart of the European Union agenda for the immediate future, the Forum of Private Businesses (FPB) has stepped up calls for smaller enterprises and entrepreneurs to be given a break from the red tape.

FPB spokesman Phil McCabe, stated: "Time-consuming bureaucracy is threatening firms' ability to recruit and retain staff, adding to rising unemployment.

"A moratorium on new employment law would provide some degree of respite and allow struggling firms to better focus on staying alive."

He added that employment law "now vies with tax" as the issue most likely to prompt small businesses to seek out professional accounting help.

Alongside less red tape, the BCC manifesto also called for the barriers to global trade to be torn down.