A branch of the Scottish Fire Brigades Union has submitted a motion to the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) for polyamorous rights to be recognised under the Equality Act.
An LGBT group at the union want the motion to be debated at the union body’s annual congress in Dundee at the end of April, saying the stigma around polyamory needs to be challenged.
“While polyamory is perfectly legal,” states the motion, “it is not recognised as a protected legal status under the Equality Act 2010. This can have consequences with regards to inheritance, parental rights and legal questions on medical decisions. Polyamorous relationships are just as valid as monogamous ones.
“Conference calls on the STUC LGBT+ Workers’ Committee to create a working group to look into the rights of polyamorous people, with consideration given to potential legislative change to protect their rights.”
Protected characteristics
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Polyamory is the practice of having more than one romantic relationship at the same time, with all partners’ informed consent.
A YouGov poll of nearly 2,000 UK adults in January 2025 found that 3% have been in a polyamorous relationship, 1% are currently in one, and 7% would be open to it.
Eighty-three per cent have not been and would not be open to being in a polyamorous relationship, while 4% don’t know, and 3% would prefer not to say.
While sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnerships are protected characteristics under the Equality Act, there are no specific rights for polyamorous people.
The STUC said that the motion was part of a “preliminary agenda” and has only been submitted for consideration.
The idea that polyamory should be a protected characteristic has been met with disbelief by some. Dr Stuart Waiton, a lecturer in sociology and criminology at Abertay University in Dundee, said: “We appear to be losing the distinction between the idea of the public self and the private self.
“It’s actually worse than that as it is often employers or unions who demand that people are ‘recognised’ for who they are, or that they can ‘bring their whole selves’ to work.
“What is essentially the institutionalisation of narcissism has become a dominant and regressive trend in society, so it is no surprise that the trans lobby are leading the way in this self-indulgent trend.”
But Leanne Yau, a polyamory educator and founder of the Poly Philia blog, said: “This is such a non-issue. Who does this motion harm?”
Legal recognition of polyamory
Polyamory, sometimes referred to as consensual or ethical non-monogamy (CNM or ENM), is currently only legally recognised in a handful of places.
The cities of Cambridge, Somerville and Arlington in Massachusetts have passed laws recognising relationships comprising more than two people, while Oakland and Berkeley in California have passed legislation banning discrimination “based on family and relationship structure” in businesses, civil services and housing.
Yau told The Times: “I feel like polyamory has become the new frontier where people are debating rights connected to families and relationships. First, it was gay people, then trans people, and now polyamorous people are being added to that mix.
“There is a broader question about how LGBTQIA+ rights link to polyamory… but I think there is a lot to be said about the ways rights could be improved for polyamorous people. Polyamorous families come under a lot of scrutiny and face a lot of discrimination of the sort that used to be levelled at LGBT people.”
A 2018 paper in the Journal for Sex Research found that, compared to participants in monogamous relationships in the US, those in polyamorous relationships were “more likely to report minority sexual identities”, for example, bisexual or pansexual.
Personnel Today could find only one employment tribunal case where an employee claimed he had been discriminated against for being polyamorous. The judgment said: “Polyamory is a manifestation of sexual orientation, not an orientation itself. The claimant has no reasonable prospect of successfully arguing that polyamory is a sexual orientation.”
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