YouGov have commissioned a survey, which revealed an alarming rate of people still think that employment legislation is 'over-engineered' and lacks flexibility.

Last year and this have seen the Government attempt to make a number of changes to employment legislation in the hope that businesses will feel more confident about employing staff, which would in turn help to improve employment figures and the economy as a whole. Perhaps one of the most significant changes was that advocated by Vince Cable to improve the ease with which employers could rid themselves of under-performing employees. So with such seemingly radical changes having already taken shape, is there really still too much red tape?

The Government has had a difficult job in terms of balancing the needs of employees with those of employers. Next month will see the introduction of auto-enrolment into the company pension. This is something, which it is hoped will benefit the individual employee because it encourages them to save for the future. On the other hand, however, it is more administrative work for the employers involved, particularly where employees decide they want to remove themselves from the scheme or re-join it. Thirty seven percent of businesses asked admitted that they were not ready for auto-enrolment. A lot of businesses have been focusing on merely surviving during these difficult economic trading times and have not wished to spend time on things they may deem as not being vital to their performance at present.

Sixty two percent of those surveyed actually thought that employment legislation has had a negative effect on profit. Apparently, it is thought that the fact that employees are aware of the ease with which they could be dismissed, has led to uneasiness. Erika Bannerman, the Sales and Marketing Director at recruitment firm Brook Street, comments, 'While steps are being taken to reduce red tape, it's clear form our conversations with businesses that many of them are still struggling. She added that in particular, 'Smaller businesses are most at risk here as they have limited resources to keep on top of changes, so it's vital they work with employment experts and recruiters who can guide them through the regulatory maze and give them the confidence they need to grow their businesses.'