Author Archives: wonkypolicywonk

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About wonkypolicywonk

Wonkypolicywonk is a recovering policy minion, assigned wonky at birth.

Love is blind, and so is Brexit

Posted on August 9, 2018 by wonkypolicywonk

“Love is blind, and lovers cannot see”, says Jessica, daughter of Shylock, in The Merchant of Venice. And, while we can only guess what Shakespeare would have made of the tragicomical farce that is Brexit, with its unappealing cast of … Continue reading →

Posted in Brexit | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

ET claims: the new normal? Maybe not yet.

Posted on June 14, 2018 by wonkypolicywonk

“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 , | 1 Comment

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

Posted on May 30, 2018 by wonkypolicywonk

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 by wonkypolicywonk

“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 by wonkypolicywonk

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 , , , | 2 Comments

Cochlear implants: as told by Wonky Junior

Posted on February 25, 2018 by wonkypolicywonk

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 , , , | 3 Comments

Honey, I shrunk the NMW arrears

Posted on February 4, 2018 by wonkypolicywonk

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 by wonkypolicywonk

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

NMW enforcement: 500% of nothing is still nothing

Posted on January 5, 2018 by wonkypolicywonk

On 28 December, as I was travelling to Wet Wales for New Year, Sarah O’Connor of the Financial Times – surely the best employment correspondent of recent years, who has now moved on to a wider investigative brief – reported … Continue reading →

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

Minimum wage, minimum shame?

Posted on December 19, 2017 by wonkypolicywonk

On 8 December, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) named & shamed another 260 employers for non-compliance with the national minimum wage. Inevitably, press and media coverage of this round of naming & shaming – the 13th … Continue reading →

Posted in Workers' rights | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments