Almost 70% of UK bosses are not prepared for the new laws which came into force in April 2007, according to Peninsula.

The laws include changes to national insurance thresholds, increased rates of statutory sick pay and statutory maternity/adoption/paternity, and sections of the Work and Families Act 2006, including and increase of statutory maternity leave to nine months.

The research also found that 78% of bosses polled think that new legislation weighs too much in favour of employees and the government should give consideration to employer’s perspective.

Peter Done, managing director of Peninsula BusinessWise, says: “Bosses simply have to be prepared otherwise they are leaving themselves at risk of being taken to tribunal and all the costly implications and repercussions thereof.

“The new regulations are wide ranging and complex; and even if employers are aware of the legislation they are still not going to know where to start. The laws are incredibly hard on small companies, as compared to larger competitors with dedicated human resources departments they are disproportionately the least able to deal with such circumstances.”