The new legislation means that benefits provided to married
employees and their spouses must be provided to employees who are
civil partners and to their civil partners – for example survivor
pensions, flexible working, statutory paternity pay, paternity and
adoption leave, health insurance or time off before or after
marriage / registration.
There are no legal requirements to offer such benefits to
couples of either the same or opposite sex who have not entered
into a marriage or civil partnership. However, where benefits are
made available to unmarried couples of opposite sex they must be
extended equally to same sex couples who have not registered a
civil partnership.
Acas, the UK's employment relations organisation, recommends
that employers should:
- Review and revise all policies, guidance, forms and other
material to reflect the new arrangements and make clear that
wherever 'spouses' and 'marriage' are used that that includes
'civil partners' and 'civil partnerships'.
- Let all staff know about these changes and remind them not to
discriminate directly or indirectly on the grounds of actual or
perceived sexual orientation.
- Ensure that employees know how to claim any relevant benefits.
Ensure that any occupational pension scheme gives the same benefits
to civil partners as to widows and widowers.
- Maintain confidentiality where employees want it. No-one should
have their sexual orientation revealed or inferred by inappropriate
disclosure of their status.
- Avoid forcing people to identify themselves as either married
or in a civil partnership. In most situations because the treatment
given to civil partners and married people is the same, there
should be no need for separate identification. However, some
employers may want to record data for equality and diversity
monitoring. In either case, any data which is held should be held
confidentially and securely so that no-one's status can be
inappropriately disclosed or deduced and procedures to access
benefits should be similarly secure. There is no legal duty for
employees to inform their employer of registration of a civil
partnership.
Acas Chair Rita Donaghy said: "This is a significant change. The
Civil Partnership Act creates a new legal relationship which for
the first time recognises same-sex relationships by giving parity
of treatment with married couples across a wide range of legal
issues. This has implications for employers."
She points out that if a company is making a benefits package
like private health care available to the spouse of an employee,
the company now needs to make it available to any civil partners of
employees too.
"This is straightforward enough, but managers should also think
about the sensitivities of the situation," continued Donaghy.
"Employees should not be singled out via a separate system and they
may need help to understand these changes and the implications in
terms of benefits available to them or their civil partner."
