Application forms, background checks and HR systems often hold a marital status field, spouse details or family information. AI tools can read those fields, or infer them from other data, and use them in a score. The Equality Act 2010 protects marriage and civil partnership at work, but the protection is narrower than for other characteristics, and it helps to know where its edges are.
The short answer: a person has the protected characteristic of marriage and civil partnership if they are married or a civil partner (s8(1)). At work, direct discrimination applies only if the treatment is because it is the person themselves who is married or a civil partner (s13(4)).
Who is covered
- Married people and civil partners: the characteristic covers people who are married or are civil partners (s8(1)-(2)).
- Not covered by this characteristic: because of how section 8 is worded, people who are single, engaged, cohabiting, divorced or whose civil partnership has ended do not have this characteristic. Other characteristics, such as sex or sexual orientation, may still apply to their situation.
The tests at work
- Direct (section 13): less favourable treatment because of marriage or civil partnership, which cannot be justified, but only where it is because the person themselves is married or a civil partner (s13(1); s13(4)). See direct discrimination.
- Indirect (section 19): marriage and civil partnership is one of the characteristics covered (s19(3)). See indirect discrimination.
- Harassment: marriage and civil partnership is not in the list of characteristics for harassment under section 26 (s26(5)).
- Married and civil partners compared: where the characteristic is sexual orientation, being a civil partner rather than married is not a material difference (s23(3)); see sexual orientation at work.
Where AI tools and HR systems come in
- Marital status fields in screening: a tool that scores or filters on marital status, or on a field that reveals it such as a spouse's name or a change of surname, can treat married people or civil partners less favourably. Ask whether the job needs the field at the screening stage at all.
- Relocation and travel scoring: a model that rates candidates as less mobile because they are married, or more likely to leave, applies the characteristic to the person.
- Couples in the same workplace: rules that block or flag hiring someone because they are married to or the civil partner of an existing employee can raise the question of whether the treatment is because the person is married.
- Benefits and leave rules: HR rules that apply differently to spouses and civil partners can be compared under section 23(3) where sexual orientation is in issue.
The employer is responsible for what it does with a vendor's tool or an HR system rule.
Practical steps
- Employers: remove marital status and spouse fields from screening data, check that models do not use them, treat spouses and civil partners alike in benefits and leave rules, and record why any family-related field is needed.
- Candidates and workers: note any question about marital status or a partner, keep the advert and any rejection, and ask what criteria were applied.
For time limits and proof, see time limits and the burden of proof; for the Act's other workplace rules, AI and the Equality Act 2010.
This page covers Great Britain and is general information on the law as at 2 November 2026, not legal advice.
Questions and answers
Who has the protected characteristic of marriage and civil partnership?
Under section 8 of the Equality Act 2010, a person who is married or is a civil partner.
Are single or cohabiting people protected under this characteristic?
No. Section 8 covers only people who are married or civil partners, though other characteristics may apply.
Does harassment law cover marriage and civil partnership?
No. Marriage and civil partnership is not in the list of relevant protected characteristics in section 26(5).
Can an AI tool that filters on marital status be discrimination?
It can be direct discrimination under section 13 where it treats someone less favourably because they themselves are married or a civil partner.