The Civil Partnership Act 2004 and parts of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 comes into force on 5 December 2005.

The CPA 2004 creates a new legal relationship of "civil partnership" which will allow same-sex couples who register as civil partners to enjoy similar rights and responsibilities as married couples. This will apply to rights of access to such matters as employment and pension benefits, recognition for immigration, nationality and tax treatment purposes.

Accordingly, employers are advised to review their policies and procedures to ensure they do not discriminate against employees who have entered into a civil partnership and that any benefits offered to married employees (or their spouses) are also extended to employees (or their partners) who have entered into a civil partnership.

The DDA 2005 will amend the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in two key respects. It will remove the requirement for a mental illness to be clinically well recognised before it can constitute a mental impairment, thus bringing mental illnesses into line with other impairments. It will also give greater protection to employees with cancer, HIV or multiple sclerosis. Employees with these conditions will be protected against discrimination from the point of diagnosis, thus removing the need for them to show that these conditions have had some material adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

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