Sexual orientation

Preventing discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation has been a key part of the Government’s agenda over the past decade. Click here to view our fact sheet, 'Government Action on LBGT rights'.

Key successes

The Government has:

equalised the age of consent;
given same sex couples an equal right to be considered to adopt children;
repealed Section 28 of the Local Authorities Act, which forbade local councils from ‘promoting homosexuality’;
lifted the ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual people serving in the armed forces;
introduced civil partnerships;
banned organisations from discriminating against employees or customers because of their sexual orientation.

Sexual orientation and the law

The Government Equalities Office is responsible for two laws designed to tackle the practical barriers and real, everyday problems faced by lesbian, gay and bisexual people. One is the Civil Partnership Act 2004, and the other is the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007, which prevent businesses and other organisations from discriminating against their customers.

Civil partnership

Civil partnership is a legal relationship, exclusively for same-sex couples and distinct from marriage, but giving them very similar rights and responsibilities.

Civil partnership supports stable relationships by providing a legal framework within which same-sex couples may organise their joint lives, acknowledge their mutual responsibilities and manage their financial arrangements.

By introducing civil partnership we removed a lot of the practical barriers gay and lesbian couples faced in their everyday lives – for instance not getting survivor pension rights if they died.

Civil partnership was made legal by the Civil Partnership Act 2004. Under ‘Related Links’ (to the right) you can download a number of key documents associated with the Act.

Some same sex overseas relationships will automatically be considered as civil partnerships in the UK. There is a list of them at: Schedule 20.

Not all of these countries recognise British civil partnerships in return, but we are working to increase the number which do.

In 2005 we published a booklet about civil partnership, including information about how to register a civil partnership and how to end one. We are currently looking into reprinting this as some of the website addresses and contact information in the current one are out of date. However, the other information in it is still correct.

You can find more information about how to register a civil partnership at the website of the General Register Office or at your local register office.

Discrimination against customers

It is illegal to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation when providing goods, facilities or services, in education, when selling or letting premises or when exercising public functions. For instance, if a hotel does wedding receptions, it must also do civil partnership receptions.

This kind of discrimination is made illegal by the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007. For more information about how the Regulations work in practice, please see the Guidance Document.

On the right there are links where you can download a number of key documents associated with the Regulations, including the consultation and response, the text of the Regulations themselves and an explanatory memorandum.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission can sometimes help people to pursue claims under the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007. See their website for more information.

Workplace discrimination

It is illegal for employers to discriminate against their employees on the grounds of sexual orientation. For instance, you can’t refuse someone a job because they are gay (or because they are straight), or treat them less well than you would treat an employee of a different sexual orientation. There are exceptions for jobs where it is necessary to be of a particular sexual orientation.

The laws making workplace discrimination illegal are the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform lead on these regulations.

If you feel you are being discriminated against at work because of your sexual orientation, you can contact the Equality and Human Rights Commission for further information and perhaps help in pursuing your claim. Full contact details are on their website.