What if I couldn't work in tech?
Income Protection for IT Professionals: A UK Guide
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This guide provides general information only. It is not financial advice or a personal recommendation and does not take account of your individual circumstances.
Quick answer
IT professionals face the same basic question as anyone else: what happens to your income if illness or injury stops you working? What's different is the detail. Tech salaries are often well above Statutory Sick Pay, pay packages can include bonuses and shares, benefits are tied to employers people move between often, and contracting changes everything.
Key figures
- weekly SSP in 2026/27, often a fraction of tech pay
- £123.25
- of earnings is a typical income protection limit
- 50–65%
- company sick pay for most contractors
- None
Why tech careers raise specific questions
Desk-based work can seem low risk, but illness and injury affect people in every job. Mental health conditions and musculoskeletal problems, such as back and neck issues or repetitive strain, are common reasons for longer absences across the workforce.
Several features of tech careers make the detail matter:
- The gap between salary and SSP is large. Statutory Sick Pay is £123.25 a week in 2026/27 (or 80% of average weekly earnings if lower). For someone on a typical tech salary, that is a fraction of normal pay.
- People change jobs often. Workplace benefits usually stop when you leave.
- Pay isn't only salary. Bonuses, shares and equity awards are common, and they are treated differently.
- Contracting is common. Moving from permanent employment to contracting often means losing sick pay and workplace benefits altogether.
What your employer may already provide
Many tech employers offer benefits beyond the legal minimum. It is worth checking your contract, handbook or benefits portal for:
- Company sick pay: how long full pay lasts, and whether it reduces.
- Group income protection: whether it exists, what percentage of salary it pays, when it starts and for how long.
- Death in service: a lump sum, often a multiple of salary, if you die while employed.
- Private medical insurance: this pays for private treatment. It doesn't replace income.
These benefits normally end when you leave the job, including between roles.
Salary, bonuses and shares
Income protection limits the monthly benefit to a proportion of your earnings, typically around 50% to 65%. How earnings are measured matters:
- Base salary is straightforward to evidence.
- Bonuses and commission may or may not count, depending on the insurer and how regular they are.
- Shares and equity awards are often not counted as earnings for this purpose.
If a large part of your pay is variable, that can affect how much of it could be covered.
How occupation affects cover
Insurers group occupations by how likely they are to lead to a claim. Office-based roles are often placed in lower-risk groups, which can affect premiums and the terms offered.
The definition of incapacity matters too. With an own occupation definition, the question is whether you can do your own job. For a software engineer, that could include being able to concentrate for long periods and use a keyboard and screen.
Moving from permanent work to contracting
Contracting changes the picture in several ways:
- No company sick pay. As a contractor, if you can't work, you usually don't get paid.
- No workplace benefits. Group income protection and death-in-service cover end when you leave employment.
- Earnings are evidenced differently. For contractors working through their own limited company, income may be a mix of salary and dividends. Insurers set out how they treat this, and some consider company profits.
- Company-paid policies exist. Some limited companies pay for income protection for their directors. The tax treatment differs from a personal policy.
Timing matters too. Health can change, and applications are assessed on your health when you apply.
A hypothetical example
Priya is a senior software engineer. Her employer pays three months' full sick pay, then SSP. It also provides group income protection paying 50% of salary after 26 weeks, for up to two years.
- While Priya is employed, a long absence would be covered in stages: full pay, then SSP, then group income protection from week 27.
- If Priya moves into contracting, all three layers end. A long absence would then depend on savings, any personal policy and state support.
Nothing about Priya's health has changed. Only her employment has, which is why job moves are a common moment to review this.
Questions worth considering
- Which of my current benefits would I lose if I changed jobs or went contracting?
- How much of my pay is base salary, and how much is variable?
- How long could savings cover essential costs if my income stopped?
- If I'm contracting, how would an insurer look at my earnings?
Frequently asked questions
Illness and injury can affect anyone. Common causes of longer absence, such as mental health conditions and back or neck problems, are not limited to physical jobs. Desk-based roles can also affect how insurers assess the risk.
Generally not. Contractors are usually paid only for the work they do. Workplace benefits such as group income protection and death in service also end when you leave employment.
It depends on the insurer. Base salary is usually counted. Bonuses may be counted if they are regular, and share awards are often excluded.