News and views

In light of recent difficulties in the construction industry, not taking protective measures opens subcontractors up to recovery and enforcement issues. If you are a subcontractor, you should think about how to prevent your tools and equipment (including cranes and scaffolding) from being seized and sold by a receiver, and to ensure you have the best chance of getting paid.

Agri-tourism and food are growing sectors in New Zealand. We have farm tourism where tourists are shown working farms with activities such as sheep dog and shearing exhibitions. Artisan producers are growing their own products and then processing them into, say, cheese, and free-range pigs are becoming salami, bacon and ham.

When your employee becomes ill, or has an injury, with long-term effects, it takes not only a toll on them of course, but also on you as their employer as there is sometimes quite a disruption to your business.

While we would love to completely eradicate inappropriate behaviour at staff Christmas parties, unfortunately there is no fool-proof course of action that employers and managers can take to guarantee everything stays above board.

Spring has sprung, the grass has riz … and, to all you employers out there, I wonder what the state of your employment contracts is.

Many commentators have stated we’re entering into one of the biggest shake-ups in employment law for decades – and, from where I’m sitting, they’re looking to be on the money.

We hear a lot nowadays about the astronomical rate of change our planet’s confronting, together with often mind-bending predictions on what the world will evolve to look like in our lifetime, and beyond.

In a world where technology is becoming more prevalent, it’s easy to feel that privacy rights are a thing of the past.