New site for red tape ranters

Most small business owners will have been confronted by red tape of some sort - anything from complying with the Data Protection Act, to employment law and health & safety. A small business owner, fed up with taking out her red tape frustration on the family pets, has created a new site to help people vent their frustration over petty rules and legislation.

The site, "Red Tape Rants", has just been launched (together with a useful mention in The Sunday Times at the weekend). Founder Sylvia Tidy-Harris told the paper:

"The government is always going on about how important enterprise is to this country but the rules and regulations that appear constantly are made by people in government who have never run a business in their life."

Over the past few years, small business owners have had to put up with wave after wave of new legislation, such as employment legislation, age discrimination, extended maternity and paternity leave rules, and working-time legislation.

Ironically, some of the key provisions of the Companies Act 2006 took effect yesterday (1st October), although this particular legislation is aimed at simplifying things for business people!