27 September 2005

Ending a civil partnership

The Civil Partnerships Act 2004 (CPA) provides a number of ways in which a civil partnership may be ended legally. The Court has the power to make and affect dissolution, nullity, presumption of death, or separation orders. The first 3 of these are conditional orders and cannot be made final until 6 weeks after the making of the initial order. After the prescribed period the Court may, in cases where objections to the grant of the order have been made, make the order final, rescind the order, require further enquiry or "otherwise deal with the case as it thinks fit"

In the case of a nullity order, the partnership is only deemed to be annulled from when the final order is granted and is to be treated as having existed up until that time, despite the order. The procedure for dissolution of the partnership is similar to the process of divorce. Either partner can apply for dissolution and the Court must be satisfied that at least one of a number of criteria, the same as those for divorce with the exception of adultery, is met in order to show the "irretrievable breakdown" of the partnership.

The position of the employer

The main issue as far as employers are concerned is that under the CPA, they are required to recognise civil partnerships in the same way as marriages. Proposed amendments to the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 will allow civil partners treated less favourably than married partners to claim sexual orientation discrimination. This will most likely mean redrafting policies concerning benefits currently available only to married employees, for example family health cover or insurance benefits, to include employees who form a civil partnership. Where similar partnerships exist overseas, providing they fulfil the requirements for civil partnerships in the UK, employers must treat employees in such relationships the same way as UK civil partners.

In cases where the employer is aware that a civil partnership has ended in practice but is not yet legally dissolved or annulled, they must continue to treat both partners in the same way as a married couple in similar circumstances. Thus, it is likely that until the final order is made to end the civil partnership legally, both partners continue to enjoy the same employment rights as they did prior to the breakdown of the relationship as, in the eyes of the law, they are still a legal partnership. This applies to all the benefits afforded married employees and their spouses, such as health insurance, pensions, company discounts and others. Any treatment which differs from that of a married couple could result in a discrimination claim.

With regard to employee health insurance schemes etc, it is likely that the insurance provider will have specific policy conditions regarding the breakdown of a relationship where the employee’s partner is also covered. These conditions should be the same regardless of whether that relationship takes the form of a marriage or a civil partnership. Employers are advised to consult with their own providers in this regard as policies vary between companies. The main issue is that the policy should not be different for couples in a civil partnership and married couples, as this could be regarded as indirect discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.