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Businesses in Yorkshire are being urged to save time and money on the cost of employing staff, as part of a campaign recently launched by the Department for Business.

The Employing People Campaign follows recent research which showed that businesses were needlessly spending time and money complying with employment law, often outsourcing for expensive advice which they could be getting for free.

45,301 businesses across Yorkshire will be encouraged to make savings by using Business Link's online tools, calculators and interactive guides, to help them understand their legal obligations and reduce unnecessary duplication of materials and wasted effort. Business Link is a government-sponsored portal offering advice to small-to-medium-size businesses.

Pat McFadden, employment relations minister, said: "During tough economic times, every penny counts for businesses. Instead of spending money on buying-in professional advice on employment law, people can access a range of quick and easy online documents. Complying with legislation can be complex at times but employment law is often easier than business owners think.

"For example, producing written statements of employment is a significant burden for employers in both time and money, and many businesses are paying external advisers to draw these up for them. In the last year, however, over 40,000 firms have benefited from switching to the written statement tool we have provided, each of them saving around £120 every time that they do so."

Through engaging with key business stakeholders such as the Confederation of British Industry, the British Retail Consortium and the British Chambers of Commerce, the government is committed to reducing employment law administration burdens on businesses by £365m a year come May 2010.

The campaign will reach out to businesses of all sizes across a variety of sectors, offering simple, practical advice and guidance on the full range of employment issues, from drafting documents to simplifying record-keeping.

As part of this outreach, the Department for Business recently provided over 300 stakeholder organisations with a toolkit to help their members demystify some of the practices around employment law.

Katja Hall, director of employment policy for the CBI, said: "This is a welcome campaign and small firms in particular will appreciate the government's support and guidance being in one place, with the free tools a cost effective way to reduce time spent calculating things like sick pay."

Stephen Robertson, director-general of the BRC, said that in tougher economic times employers cannot afford to throw away money by getting caught up doing unnecessary paperwork. He said: "We welcome the government's moves to help employers to save money and time on their employment law obligations."

For more information on the campaign visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/employingpeople.