Over 600 people have signed a petition calling for the government to consult with businesses before introducing new regulations.

The campaign, by HRZone.co.uk and sister website BusinessZone.co.uk, was originally started to force the government to delay Sunday’s introduction of new sexual harassment rules after it was revealed they were laid down with no Parliamentary debate and little publicity three weeks earlier.

Although the rules have now been implemented, the two websites are urging more entrepreneurs, HR professionals and anyone with an interest in the small business sector, to sign the petition on the Downing Street website to demonstrate to ministers that employers will no longer tolerate regulation without consultation.

Dan Martin, editor of BusinessZone.co.uk, said: “We had very little time to set up our petition given the short notice provided by the government. But the level of interest shows just how firms feel about legislation being sneaked through without them being told about it.

“The government has admitted that it will cost small businesses almost £10m to comply with the new sexual harassment but has provided very little information as to how they should act.

“Although we have smashed the target of 200 signatories which we needed to force Gordon Brown to reply, I urge more small company owners and HR professionals to join us in calling on the government to always take the views of business into account when introducing new rules.”