Tangled in red tape

According to a survey of senior business managers and company owners carried out by employment law and health and safety legislation specialist, Bibby Consulting and Support, red tape is "crippling" businesses and it is felt that the coalition government is unlikely to do anything about it.

Two thirds of the 424 respondents to the Bibby Employer Survey felt that many aspects of human resource (HR) management were becoming too complex for them to manage. Company after company put the blame on stifling bureaucracy, with frustration and anger directed at "red tape and time spent on unnecessary matters rather than running a business". Senior business figures referred with dismay and resignation to "forever changing rules and regulations", a "minefield of employment law", and "crippling legislation".