Christmas Greetings!

Our Christmas Company Day was a star-studded affair this year, as the impressive vocal chords of a Dolly Parton doppelgänger delighted us all. There was dancing, some questionable singing (not mentioning any names but one of our team definitely isn’t Kenny Rogers!) and lots of laughter. Yes, laughter … something we’ve all needed after a year that’s been extremely busy (which is good) but has not always been plain sailing (which is less good). We know that for many of our clients it’s not been plaining sailing either. In economically challenging times and after the latest anti-business Autumn budget, we’re probably all trying to be a bit more Dolly. “The way I see it” she says, with that indomitable spirit of hers, “if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

We bought a first-class ticket on the AI train this year, as we welcomed into the fold a new team member, Pam, our Employee Benefits, HR and Payroll digital agent. Have you met her yet? Feel free to scan the QR code below and say hello. Pam is settling in very nicely, and we are cautiously embracing this fast paced and fascinating technology.

Talking of tech, our new client portal, Ink Flow, was just a whisper in the wind this time last year. It’s fundamentally changed the way we work with our clients and has increased collaboration across our teams to improve service levels. It’s one of the things that we know helped us to secure our fifth Corporate Adviser Small Adviser Firm of the Year Award in June.

Our winter bedtime reading has been The Mayfield Review, also known as the ‘Keep Britain Working Review’. Authored by Sir Charlie Mayfield, former chairman of John Lewis (who knows a thing or two about the world of work) this reads a little like a Grimms’ fairy tale, laden with wolves and goblins. With an additional 800,000 people becoming economically inactive since2019 and with shocking stats on the rising rates and cost to employers of sickness absence, it’s hard not to succumb to a deep depression. The depression only worsens, of course, in light of a budget policy and employment rights bill that seemingly incentivise a withdrawal from work. But at Ink we truly believe in the positive health benefit of being at work and staying in work, and we’re turning evangelical about it. We hope to be part of the vanguard for the next part of the Keep Britain Working review and have already hosted a roundtable with experts in our world to explore these critical issues. More about this in the New Year …

Sticking with the politics for a moment (yes, we know, shouldn’t be talked about in the same breath as ‘Christmas’ …) we’re holding the line with salary exchange (or ‘salary sacrifice as it’s more often known). This has been a hot topic for us for as long as we can remember. Very few people are saving enough for their retirement and we think it’s scandalous that Ms. Reeves is looking to hammer the saving incentive that salary exchange provides. We’ll do everything that we can to stay loud on this subject, and we will continue to encourage clients to consider salary exchange options for their staff . Don’t let the sword of Damocles get in the way of saving for the future.

Other things that have kept us working nine to five in 2025 … we’ve hosted webinars, launched new websites, revamped our reports and created a new mental health pathway. Our payroll bureau goes from strength to strength, and with new tech in place there too, we’ve been able to extend our services and reach.

Looking ahead, our employee communication and engagement agency, Nutshell, opens its doors in early 2026, and we’ll be developing our work around workplace pensions governance to ensure that value for money is a key part of the framework. And business as usual, of course, will keep us busy too – and we’re very much looking forward to it.

For now, though, it’s time to pause awhile and start afresh in January. To that end, our office closes at 12.30pm on Wednesday 24th December and reopens at 9am on Friday 2nd January.

Thank you all for your business this year. We love working with you and wish you a peaceful and Merry Christmas, with not a wicked wolf or a ghastly goblin in sight.