David Cameron has pledged to "kill off the health and safety culture for good" in 2012.
The prime minister announced his New Year's resolution writing in the Evening Standard, saying that it had become an "albatross around the neck of British businesses."
Cameron said health and safety culture was harming the economy and was a "massively important issue" for businesses.
As part of a package of measures, the prime minister said the amount earned by lawyers from personal injury claims against employers and to reduce overall costs in cases funded by "no-win no-fee" deals would be capped.
Cameron also said he had asked the Health and Safety Executive to bring forward to the end of 2012 its timetable for abolishing or consolidating up to half of all existing regulations.
The British Chamber of Commerce has estimated the cost of health and safety regulation stands at £4.138 billion.
However the prime minister was branded as out-of-touch almost immediately by TUC general secretary Brendan Barber.
"Workers will be astonished by the claim that there is an excessive health and safety culture that has become an albatross around the neck of British businesses.
"The truth is that there are two million people in the UK who have an illness or injury caused by their work - the vast majority of which could have been prevented had their employer taken the correct safety precautions," he said.
It's not the first time the prime minister has spoken out against health and safety culture and red tape. When in opposition, he claimed they were ''a straitjacket on personal initiative and responsibility''.