The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) says its free legal helpline for members handled more than 76,000 calls last year at an average of 200 a day.

The most asked about topic was age discrimination, which saw a 664% rise in the number of questions it attracted, after the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations came into force last year.

The FSB says small firms are being strangled by the sheer volume of employment legislation that they now have to deal with.

Spokesman Alan Tyrrell said:

"The complexity of these laws is placing an intolerable burden on smaller firms who are not big enough to have their own HR department. The average small business owner spends 28 hours per month filling in forms for the Government."