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 People may be struggling to find 40-plus jobs due to a lack of understanding in small business owners of employment laws.
A study carried out by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Bis) discovered that there are "significant disparities" between different small businesses over their confidence and general awareness of such legislation.
The pollster carried out its survey on 300 owners of small firms and found that just 32 per cent said they feel confident in their overall understanding of employment laws, which could have a negative impact on people looking to secure 40-plus jobs.
Surprisingly, more than a third of respondents expressed contempt for the legislation, claiming that they felt such laws have little or no relevance to their businesses.
And a fifth of owners said that while they understand the obligations which employment law imposes on their firms, they are left concerned and unsure over whether they are implementing it correctly.
Despite these mixed levels of understanding, the Bis study also shone a light on the fact that many small businesses are simply not prepared to take the time to familiarise themselves fully with employment law.
Trying to find 40-plus jobs in the City of London may be markedly easier if there was a wider understanding, but 25 per cent of respondents admitted they do not keep up to speed with changes in employment law.
Almost half felt it is "important" to stay up to date, but over a quarter said they are only "vaguely aware" of their legal implications regarding the matter. Employers who fell into this latter category said they struggled to find the time to keep abreast of the law and any changes to it.
In fact, anyone looking for 40-plus jobs may be better advised to look for a female employer, as women were found to have the best understanding of the legislation.
Perhaps driven by their fear of getting any employment law matters wrong, 54 per cent of women
running small businesses said they feel it is important to make sure they are informed of any adaptations, compared to 38 per cent of men.
Over a quarter of the male owners of smaller firms surveyed by Bis accepted that they fail to keep up to date, compared to just over a fifth of females in the same position.
While running a small business is often a challenging experience, employment relations minister Lord Young said that this does not have to be the case with regard to employment law.
He explained that by carrying out the study, Bis had been able to identify any gaps in knowledge and the reasons behind them and will continue to offer free advice and support on the matter.
Lord Young commented: "I expect all small businesses to access this help for free on the Business Link website to make sure they know their responsibilities."
And Petra Wilton, director of policy and research at the Chartered Management Institute, said the study highlights the wide variance in understanding among owners.
Consequently, she called on them to take responsibility for any areas of the law which they know they need to improve on.
"No one is asking them to be an expert," she said. "But it is essential that they seek out and use appropriate information so that informed decisions can be reached."
However, the Forum of Private Business has defended its members by hitting out at the government with claims that policies which affect them are often thought up with much larger firms in mind.
"We feel that a comprehensive regulatory review would, most importantly, help government departments understand how pieces of legislation interact with each other, creating cumulative administrative and policy burdens," said its policy representative Matthew Goodman.
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