Prospect Subscriptions October 2023

At Prospect, our membership subscriptions go towards making work better for all of us. They directly fund collective representation, collective campaigning and, where necessary, personal advice and advocacy.

It is vital for everyone at Prospect that subscription rates represent value for money and are affordable for our members, especially during the cost-of-living crisis. 

We must also ensure we are fully equipped to promote your interests and protect your rights at work.  

Therefore, we are applying a small increase to sustain our finances and ensure we remain a credible force on behalf of members. 

This year, subs rates will increase by 3% – a below-inflation increase, amounting to less than 50 pence per month for the vast majority of members. 

How did we get to that figure?

Our National Conference sets the rules for subscription rates. At our 2022 National Conference, delegates overwhelmingly voted in favour of subs rates increasing by 1-3% each year, based on the April CPI figure for inflation in that year.  

In non-conference years, our governing committee – the National Executive Committee (NEC) – will approve rises. 

The April CPI inflation figure this year was 8.7%. Therefore, the NEC decided on the 3% increase to our banded rates, retired members’ rate and the cap on subs rates in the energy sector.

This means the new retired member subscription rate will increase to £3.74 per month (£44.88 per year or £448.80 for lifetime membership).

The NEC is made up of Prospect members and is elected by Prospect members, and they understand the cost pressures that many members are facing. 

This represents a real-terms decrease in subs rates for the second consecutive year. Before last year, rates hadn’t risen at all since 2018 – we only raise rates when absolutely necessary. 

Subscriptions increases will now take effect on 1 October each year. 

What is the wider context?

We have a government determined to erode workers’ rights, and we have to stand strong against these attacks. Across all of the sectors where we represent, we must speak truth onto power, address the cost of living crisis and resist attempts to erode standards. 

I’m proud to say we have a brilliant team of Prospect staff who work every day to support you and your representatives. From our team in the Member Contact Centre who took over 31,000 of your calls last year to our organising and negotiations teams who work on the ground to organise branches and advocate for your interests in the workplace. 

They are supported by our elected representatives who are our bedrock, that we train and develop to be your first point of call locally. 

Perhaps most importantly, members as individuals need to have the confidence that we will be there for them should they need personal advice or support.  

We seek to make working lives of members better through collective influence, but we never lose sight of the fact that often we make the most difference when we handle a case or provide a piece of guidance that resolves a matter. 

As we look ahead to the future of the world of work, I am confident that we are in the best position to tackle the challenges facing us head on and achieve positive change for our members.  

If you would like to get more involved in shaping our union, find out how you can become a Prospect workplace representative and help get our voice heard on a local and national level.

Get in touch

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any queries or adjustments to make to your membership.