insurance
Do trade union members need income protection?
Fact-checked and reviewed by Kiruba Shankar Eswaran or another licensed agent on our team. Read our editorial standards.
This guide is for general educational purposes and is not financial advice. Cover, eligibility and terms vary by insurer and by policy. Always read the policy documents for the full terms, limitations and exclusions before you buy.
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.
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.
Negotiating pay and conditions for the entire workforce, to achieve the best outcome and parity of employment terms
Advising and advocating for employees in individual disputes with their employer
Unions often organise or sponsor training programmes for their members who want to take a more active part in their union’s activities.
On major industrial and employment issues, unions have access to government departments
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.
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?
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Getting your own income protection could be the answer
A complete UK guide to term life insurance: how it works, what it costs, the main policy types, underwriting, how it compares with whole of life, and the top UK providers.
New Year, new money mindset. It’s time to break free from financial anxiety once and for all. Here are six simple tips to boost your financial resilience in 2026 and bring you peace of mind all year long!
Life insurance for young adults doesn't have to be complicated or costly. This comprehensive guide covers why purchasing life insurance as a young adult locks in lower rates based on current health and how to pick the proper policy length and provider for your situation.
Introducing Theea's Coverage Calculator: the intuitive insurance tool inspired by thousands of customer conversations that turns anxiety into tailored advice and confusion into confident choices.
We’re expanding our perks with two new additions designed to turn good intentions into healthy habits. Discover everything you can get for free with an Eleos policy.
If you smoke, you may have a tough time getting income protection insurance, but it’s not impossible.
