Before teachers, lecturers, civil servants and other public sector workers walked out in June, protesting against proposed pension changes, it was going to be the largest day of strike action since the 1980s.
It was also being touted as undeniably bad news for the private sector. With many working parents taking the day off to look after their children as schools closed, it was feared that workplace productivity and trade would be affected. With the economy so fragile, it was felt that this was one challenge SMEs in particular could have done without.
As it happened, no major airport in the UK reported any kind of significant delays in relation to the strike and, according to government figures, just 105,890 out of a total 500,000 civil servants failed to turn up for work.
Nevertheless, research by recruitment firm Badenoch & Clark says morale in the public sector is low, with workers fearing lack of job security, reduced resources, longer working hours and now finding their benefits packages under scrutiny. A year of discontent could be on the cards.
Amid this working environment, new business legislation is unlikely to be welcomed with open arms. But as our feature on additional paternity leave reveals, regulation doesn't have to mean "red tape". In fact, according to one entrepreneur who joined our roundtable on attitude to risk it could be regarded as a "brand protector".
The issue crops up in our special report on international trade as well. Legal and tax issues are a common qualm for UK companies thinking of trading in Europe. But as Professor Richard Scase told Tina Nielsen, while the regulation can appear "complex and frightening" it is often more straightforward than it first appears so "do your research and get the advice", he says.
Also in this issue Dame Fiona Reynolds tells us what it's like to look after the nation's heritage – no mean feat unsurprisingly. We're delighted to announce the shortlists for the Director of the Year Awards 2011. And with wine expert Stephen Skelton predicting sales of English sparkling wine hitting five million bottles by 2020, we've picked six of our best sparkling wine producers.
Amy Duff, Deputy editor