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United Kingdom
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Key definition
Marriage and civil partnership discrimination definition

What does Marriage and civil partnership discrimination mean? In practice, this refers to unlawful less favourable treatment because a person is married or in a civil partnership. In Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland), it is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, but the protection is narrow: it covers only direct discrimination and victimisation in work (employees, workers and office-holders). It does not apply to services, public functions or education, and there is no indirect discrimination or harassment ground tied solely to marriage and civil partnership. The treatment must be because the person’s status is married or a civil partner (not because of their spouse’s identity)....

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Marriage and Civil Partnership Discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 (Great Britain): definitions, scope, limits on claims by non-spouses, and interaction with other protected characteristics, with key EAT authorities

Practice notes
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This Practice Note explores how marriage and Civil partnership are defined for the purpose of safeguarding individuals against Discrimination and other forms of prohibited conduct under the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010).

Protected characteristics

The Equality Act 2010 offers protection from discrimination connected to particular listed personal attributes that people may hold. Certain protections apply solely to a single specific attribute. Others confer identical protection in respect of all the attributes, which are collectively known as 'the protected characteristics'...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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