On the face of it, the laws around employees’ and employers’ respective rights and responsibilities when it comes to sick leave might look cut and dried – the reality, though, is anything but.
There’s something quite special about farming families, particularly those whose relationship with the land is first and foremost a love, rather than business, affair.
Recent surveys show the skilled worker shortage is one the biggest concerns for employers in the Central Otago-Lakes area, with the farming, hospitality and tourism sectors particularly reliant on migrants to meet their staffing needs.
Was it really only 30-odd years ago we were fascinated by the fax, push-button phones were the bees’ knees and the big question was whether to buy a Beta or VHS video player?
New minimum wage rates have just been introduced, providing a good time for employers to ensure they’re up with the pay play – remembering the cost of breaching these laws can be more painful than many realise.
At school, (yes that was a few moons ago), I remember there was one guy who had an incredibly difficult existence. I can’t recall a single thing he did that would even begin to explain the insidious hostility levelled at him day in, day out, yet he was “The Target”.
Local employers who hire migrants would do well to double-check they’re complying with all of their employment obligations, lest they be banned from employing foreign staff, under new laws which came into effect on April 1.
In his song, Italian Restaurant, Billy Joel sums up a piece of fraud prevention advice I regularly give to small business owners: A bottle of white, a bottle of red … perhaps a bottle of rose instead.
