7. What is marital status discrimination?

Marital status discrimination occurs when a particular marital status is required without reasonable or substantial grounds. Examples include a landlord only renting a flat to married persons ( section 29 of the SDO), or an employer giving different benefits to employees who are single, married or divorced where such benefits are not related to their work performance ( section 7 of the SDO).

Note that marital status discrimination is different from family status discrimination (see Part IV: Family Status Discrimination).