Do trade union members need income protection?

What are trade unions?

The history of trade unions in the United Kingdom dates back over 200 years to the early days of industrialisation. Their main purposes have always been to argue for and protect their members’ workplace rights and to conduct collective bargaining in pay negotiations.

Trade union membership peaked in 1979 with 13.2 million members. The Thatcher government famously introduced several waves of legislation to curb the power of the unions, following major industrial disputes in the 1970s. In 2025 union membership has more than halved to 5.5 million.

Despite this reduction of power, the benefits of trade union membership are still valuable in protecting the pay, rights and conditions of members. Non-members who are part of the same employer’s workforce benefit as well.

What do trade unions do?

When they heard the words 'trade union' a lot of people think 'strikes', but while it's certainly true that unions can propose strike action their range of activities and services is much broader.

Collective bargaining          

Negotiating pay and conditions for the entire workforce, to achieve the best outcome and parity of employment terms

Individual representation

Advising and advocating for employees in individual disputes with their employer

Training and education

Unions often organise or sponsor training programmes for their members who want to take a more active part in their union’s activities.

Political lobbying

On major industrial and employment issues, unions have access to government departments

Industrial action

When negotiations between union and employer reach a stalemate, unions can ballot their members on whether to take strike action. In the past 40 years strikes have become much less common than their 1970s peak.

Financial assistance

Some unions provide limited strike pay and occasionally make discretionary payments to members in times of hardship

However, when it comes to financial support for individuals who are forced to stop working through illness or injury, what, if anything, do the unions offer?

What support does a trade union give to its members on sick leave?

Every employee – union member or not - is entitled to the minimum statutory sick pay. This is currently just £118.75 a week. Many employers do pay more than this, but it’s usually for only a limited period. Trade unions on the whole don’t give their members sick pay. Fortunately, income protection offers an alternative.

What is income protection insurance and how does it work?

Income protection (IP) is an insurance product that’s specifically designed to protect working people if they’re ever too sick to work. They buy a policy while they’re fit and in work, then if illness or injury forces them to stop, they can receive a monthly replacement income until they’ve recovered enough to return to work.

If you’re a member of a trade union, should you get income protection?

Not everyone will choose income protection if they feel they’re adequately covered by their employer’s sick pay scheme, or if they have substantial savings and don’t mind spending them on the essentials of daily life. However, many people don’t fit into either category so for them income protection may be worth serious consideration. Clearly this applies to the average trade union member, whose pay and conditions may be well looked after, but whose income loss during sickness is not.

You might expect unions to offer income protection as a member benefit, but the cost of membership is relatively low, starting at about £5 a month and rarely exceeding £20, which means that even a group IP scheme would be unaffordable without a serious hike in union dues.

Having said that, many trade unions do give their members access to income protection policies through insurance partners like Union Insurance Services (UIB) but this is only a referral – the member is responsible for taking out and paying for the policy.

The UK’s 10 biggest unions and their income protection provision

The schemes recommended by unions all have lower maximum benefit levels than Eleos (50% of their income or up to £1500 a month, compared to 65% or £2,000 a month.

Disadvantages of union-recommended IP policies

If we compare income protection insurance recommended by trade unions with policies you might buy for yourself, it’s important to remember that we’re not comparing like with like. A personal income protection policy is likely to give you better cover, and what the trade unions offer is a good illustration of this.

Lower cover

As our table shows, in almost every case the maximum level of cover given by the schemes recommended or arranged by the unions is lower than a personal policy. Five will pay no more than £1500 a month or 50% of your income, whichever is lower. Prospect offers a potentially more generous 70% but limits it to £1200 a month. And don’t forget, you will be paying the premiums. Contrast these policies with Eleos’s income protection which pays up to 65% of your income to a maximum of £2000 per month. 

Longer waiting periods

The waiting period is the length of time you agree to wait between stopping work and receiving your first payment. This is to help align your income protection benefits with any sick pay you receive from your employer. In a personal policy, like the ones we offer at Eleos, your waiting period can be as short as 1 week. Most of the union sponsored policies oblige you to choose a longer minimum waiting period – in the case of the CWU it’s 13 weeks.

No personalisation

Because the insurers to which these unions refer their members may have modelled their income protection policies on group schemes they can be one-size-fits-all. That means there’s not much chance of being able to personalise your cover to meet your specific needs.

Advantages of union-recommended IP policies

Despite the drawbacks, there are a few positives in choosing a policy your union recommends, although you’ll have to decide if they outweigh the disadvantages. For one thing, the underwriting process for assessing risk isn’t necessarily any simpler: it may just be less flexible.

Guaranteed acceptance

In some cases your application is a formality – as a union member you’ll automatically be accepted but there may be some important exclusions in your cover that go further than you might find in a personal policy.

Discounted premiums

Some unions will have negotiated lower premiums for union members than may be on offer in a personal policy, but it’s possible this accounts for the lower levels of cover available so it may be a false economy.

Simplified claims process

Many union-recommended IP policies have tried to make claiming an easy process, but the advantages of this are diminishing with the advances in digital technology that other insurers, like Eleos, are now implementing.

Twin pillars of support: income protection and union membership

People who work for a living have come to expect certain employment rights and, despite having reduced powers compared to 50 years ago, the trade unions still play a central role in guaranteeing those rights. Most union activity is conducted through amicable negotiation with employers, but it’s only the few confrontational disputes that make the headlines. Pay, conditions, health and safety, training, legal support – these are the sort of things that unions deliver well. What they don’t do is provide income protection insurance or anything comparable. 

The policies they recommend are generally not the best in the market. They tend to be basic but they’re relatively cheap and a referral from your union is an attractive route to follow. A recommended policy may also be tempting because you feel your union has already examined its terms and you’re happy to take their approval on trust. But since you’ll have to pay for your policy anyway, it makes sense to shop around: you’re likely to find better cover as well as flexibility and personalisation.

Looking for financial security?

Getting your own income protection could be the answer

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