Author Archives: wonkypolicywonk

About wonkypolicywonk

@wonkypolicywonk is a policy minion who has been lucky enough to work at Maternity Action, Working Families, Citizens Advice, the National Audit Office, the Law Society, and Amnesty International UK. He currently bangs his head on a desk in Parliament.

ET claims: the new normal? Maybe not yet.

Posted on June 14, 2018

“There is no such thing in life as normal”, sang my erstwhile hero Morrissey on his 2006 song ‘The youngest was the most loved’. But on this, as on so many things, Morrissey was wrong. Because, under the justice-denying fees … Continue reading →

Posted in Justice | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Withdrawal symptoms: Will the Government withdraw the EU (Withdrawal) Bill?

Posted on May 30, 2018

The other night, I had one of those strange but strangely realistic dreams that it is hard to shake off upon waking. I dreamt that I had been sentenced to five weeks in prison, for putting too many ticks on … Continue reading →

Posted in Brexit | Tagged | Leave a comment

Penny pinching: enforcement (or not) of the minimum wage

Posted on March 15, 2018

“A penny saved is a penny earned.” So said the 18th century clever clogs, Benjamin Franklin. Allegedly. Maybe. OK, it seems he probably didn’t say it. But, if he did, we could justly consider Franklin to be an astonishingly far-sighted … Continue reading →

Posted in Workers' rights | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

ET claims: the new normal

Posted on March 8, 2018

So, with today’s publication by the Ministry of Injustice of the latest set of quarterly tribunal statistics, giving us five full months’ worth of ET claim/case statistics since the Supreme Court did the High Court’s job for it and ruled … Continue reading →

Posted in Justice, Workers' rights | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Cochlear implants: as told by Wonky Junior

Posted on February 25, 2018

Today is international #CochlearImplantDay. If you’ve not heard of cochlear implants, they are an amazing technology that enables an increasing number of profoundly deaf children and adults to ‘hear’ sound, and so learn to communicate primarily by speech (often supplemented … Continue reading →

Posted in Disability | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Honey, I shrunk the NMW arrears

Posted on February 4, 2018

As noted previously [Shurely ‘tediously’? Ed] on this blog, Tory ministers have not been slow to crow about their apparent success in fortifying HMRC’s enforcement of the national minimum wage (NMW) in recent years. In April 2016, the then business … Continue reading →

Posted in Workers' rights | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Mind the (Gender Pay) Gap

Posted on January 17, 2018

While I don’t suppose it will protect me from accusations of ‘mansplaining’, I am going to preface this blog with two pre-emptive statements. Firstly, I am wholly committed to eliminating sex discrimination in the workplace, unequal pay, and the gender … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, Workers' rights | Tagged , , | Leave a comment