Businesses face a barrage of new regulations this week as a higher minimum wage, new disciplinary procedures and changes to disability discrimination and employment tribunal rules come into force on the same day.

The Federation of Small Businesses warned of a "worrying lack of awareness" of the biggest changes in employment law for a decade and cautioned that "unwary employers could easily find themselves falling foul of the rules".

Stakeholder Response: Institute of Directors

A spokesperson for the Institute of Directors said:"Businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to keep afloat on the swelling tide of employment legislation. Small firms in particular simply do not have the time to digest the often complicated rules and procedures attached to certain regulations. We would like to see the government announce a moratorium on employment legislation which would give businesses a chance to catch up."

Stakeholder Response: Federation of Small Businesses

John Walker, FSB policy chairman said: "The government’s objectives for introducing this legislation are sound.  It is designed to reduce the potential for disputes ending up at tribunal by ensuring discussions take place in the workplace first.  

"But as with so many well-intentioned initiatives the complexity of the regulations make them a potential minefield for small firms. The new rules will have a wide-ranging impact on the way employers do their business and we are concerned that this impact has been under-estimated."

Stakeholder Response: Forum of Private Business

Nick Goulding, chief executive of the Forum of Private Business, said: "October's raft of new requirements is symptomatic of a general trend towards an overly bureaucratic and frankly damaging regulatory regime."