What is income protection through work?

The short answer

Income protection is an insurance benefit some employers offer that pays you part of your salary — usually between 50% and 75% — if you're too ill or injured to work for a long period. Unlike sick pay, which typically lasts weeks or months, income protection can keep paying for years, in some cases right up to retirement.

How it works

If you're off work long-term, you first use your employer's sick pay. Once that runs out — and after a waiting period set by the policy, often 13 to 26 weeks — income protection kicks in and pays a percentage of your salary. Payments usually continue until you're well enough to return, you reach the policy's limit (some schemes pay for a maximum of 2–5 years), or you retire. Payments made through your employer's payroll are normally taxed like regular pay.

Why it matters more than it sounds

Statutory Sick Pay is a legal minimum that falls far short of most people's outgoings — and it ends after 28 weeks. If you couldn't work for a year, income protection could be the difference between financial stability and serious hardship. Buying the same cover privately often costs hundreds of pounds a year, so getting it through work is a genuinely valuable perk that's easy to underrate when comparing offers.

What to check with an employer

Ask what percentage of salary it pays, how long the waiting period is, and how long payments can last — "to retirement" cover is much stronger than a 2-year limit. Also check whether cover starts on day one of employment or after a probation period.

How OfferWise treats it

When you toggle income protection on for an offer in OfferWise, it counts towards that offer's overall score — because a job that protects your income through serious illness is genuinely worth more than one that doesn't, even at the same salary.

Comparing job offers? OfferWise scores every offer on salary, pension, benefits like income protection, and your commute — free.