Our blogs

Supporting staff during care home acquisition

Reassuring staff during a care home takeover

When a large care group or management company buys out a care home, the focus in the boardroom is usually crystal clear – CQC rating, occupancy levels and budget forecasts. But on the floor, the staff delivering the care are...

Purchasing additional holiday pay

What to consider in payroll when employees want to buy extra holiday

Holiday purchase schemes are a popular employee benefit, and it’s easy to see why. Extra time off is something most people value, and giving employees the flexibility to buy additional leave can be a low-cost way to enhance your benefits...

Employment Rights Act April 2026 changes

Employment Rights Act 2025 – everything changing in April 2026 (and what’s coming next)

April 2026 is nearly here, and it is shaping up to be one of the most significant months for UK employment law in a generation. The Employment Rights Act 2025 became law in December last year, and April 2026 is...

Why integrity matters for managed payroll

Doing the right thing, always – why integrity in managed payroll matters

In the daily rhythm of business life, payroll can sometimes feel like just another task, numbers, deadlines, deductions, submissions. But at Ascend Payroll, we know it’s far more than that. Payroll is about people, trust, and doing the right thing,...

R day and Fair Work Agency

Holiday pay compliance is changing – what the FWA and R-day mean for your business

April 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most significant moments for payroll compliance in recent years. Two changes are landing at the same time, and together they raise the stakes considerably for employers. The first is R-day...

Supporting care home acquisitions

Buying a care home? Don’t let payroll become your first crisis

Acquiring a care home is rarely a simple tick-box exercise. It’s often fast, messy, and incredibly stressful. Whether you are a large care group expanding your portfolio or a management company stepping in to turn around an ailing care home,...

Employment Rights Act changes Feb 26 (

Employment Rights Act 2025 -critical changes taking effect 18 February 2026

The first wave of employment law reforms is here. Are you ready? If you’ve been tracking the Employment Rights Act 2025 journey, you’ll know it became law on 18 December 2025 after a sometimes turbulent passage through Parliament. Now, we’re...

Timeline for Plan to Make Work Pay

The Plan to Make Work Pay – what’s changing and when you need to act

The government released a critical update on 3 February 2026 about their Plan to Make Work Pay. This is the biggest change to employment law in a generation, and it’s going to affect every UK business over the next couple...

Payrolling of benefits April 27

Compulsory payrolling of benefits from April 2027 – what employers need to know

The landscape of benefits administration is set to change significantly. From April 2027, (it was to be April 2026 but the date when all employers were to comply was postponed until April 2027) the government will make payrolling of benefits...

Check your tax code

Why employees must check their HMRC tax code notices

Nobody wants a nasty surprise from HMRC. Yet every year, thousands of employees overpay tax or discover they owe money simply because they didn’t check their tax code was correct. Annually, around a third of all tax codes issued by...

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