News and views

After the mad rush to March 31, for many businesses – especially those in our parts who are hectic during the snow season – this is a great time to take stock, and consider some of those “should dos” that tend to slide off the radar as the new financial year picks up speed.

If you’re a BizClubber, and haven’t yet checked out our growing library of free, member-exclusive legal templates, it’s a must.

If you’re in the food business, and you’re not across the fact the Food Act 2014 has been introduced, you need to be – especially if you’re one of the countless ventures that should have already registered.

At Easter time, our area has become synonymous with two particular headline grabbers: the amazing biennial Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow … and retailers’ rebellion over laws that saw all Queenstown businesses free to open, but the rest of Central Otago-Lakes District forced to close – or trade illegally.

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.

If you’ve ever been at the helm of any venture, you don’t need me to tell you about the hard graft, long hours and sheer breadth of critical decision-making required to keep a business’ engine room firing.

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.