Mosquito mistake
I went to Venice last week.
I’d been once before, so I had great expectations.
The City of Water didn’t let me down: sun, wonderful streets, great architecture, boat rides, Italian gelato (three times a day) and wine without compare.
There was one drawback of having been there before, though – I went into the whole affair with an air of complacency and completely forgot something critical:
Canals = mosquitos.
Rabid mosquitos.
As soon as the blighters started taking chunks out of me, I chided myself – I’ve had an allergic reaction to mosquitos before, which requires specific medication, ice-gel, anti-histamines and hydrocortisone to treat.
Of course, I’d brought none of those things, let alone the insect repellent which could have made all of that unnecessary anyway.
I had to play the hand I’d dealt myself, though, so I had no choice but to “practice” my Italian in various Venetian pharmacies to try and procure all of the above items.
Expensive, time-consuming, and the complete opposite of what you want to do in Venice.
There’s a parallel in the world of employment law – employers have access to ALL the tools they need to protect their business.
If your documents are written correctly and you abide by them, and you listen to and action the advice of an HR advisor who knows their stuff, you’ll be fine.
Trouble is, too many employers are like me: they’ve got access to all of the above, but they just go blindly on without taking advantage of that access.
The result? A much more expensive bill, and a whole lot more time than if they’d followed the correct advice in the first place.
Don’t make this mosquito mistake I did – use the tools at your disposal, or risk being bitten.
