Unmarried mother Siobhán McLaughlin wins right to widow’s allowance

An unmarried mother from Northern Ireland has won a British Supreme Court battle to access a widowed parent’s allowance for her bereaved children.

Siobhán McLaughlin (46) was refused the benefit after her partner John Adams died from cancer in January 2014 because the couple, who had four children and were together for 23 years, were not married or in a civil partnership.

Ms McLaughlin is a special needs classroom assistant from Armoy, Co Antrim. The late Mr Adams was a groundsman. Their children are Rebecca (15), Billy (16), Lisa (21) and Stuart (23).

Following Mr Adams’s death, Ms McLaughlin had to take on an evening job after being refused widowed parent’s allowance by the Northern Ireland Department for Communities.

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She initially won a case after claiming unlawful discrimination based on her marital status, but that ruling was later overturned by the British Court of Appeal.

But, by a majority of four justices to one, the British Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the current law on the allowance is “incompatible” with Human Rights legislation.

Giving the lead judgment, the court’s president Lady Hale said: “The allowance exists because of the responsibilities of the deceased and the survivor towards their children.

“Those responsibilities are the same whether or not they are married to or in a civil partnership with one another.

‘Diminish’

“The purpose of the allowance is to diminish the financial loss caused to families with children by the death of a parent.

“That loss is the same whether or not the parents are married or in a civil partnership with one another.”

However, Lady Hale said not every case where an unmarried parent is denied the allowance after the death of their partner will be unlawful.

The court also said it is up to the British government to decide whether or how to change the law.

Speaking after the case, Ms McLaughlin said the experience had been an “emotional rollercoaster”.

“I have cried, I have beamed with joy, I have cried more, it’s been surreal. I am really happy.”

Ms McLaughlin said she decided to fight the case because she felt it was wrong.

“It was to fight that injustice, it was a case of, if this is what has to be done, then this is what has to be done,” she said.

Solicitor Laura Banks, of Francis Hanna and Co, described the ruling as a “significant victory” not only for Ms McLaughlin and her children but for thousands of other families across the UK.

“An estimated 2,000 families each year are turned away from bereavement benefits because of this legislation which the Supreme Court has today clearly state is unjustifiably discriminatory,” she said.

“We urge the government to act without delay to implement the required changes to the law for the benefit of bereaved families such as Siobhan’s.”

A spokesman for the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the ruling would be studied carefully.

“Widowed parent’s allowance was a contributory benefit and it has always been the case that inheritable benefits derived from another person’s contributions should be based on the concept of legal marriage or civil partnership,” he said. “This ruling doesn’t change the current eligibility rules for receiving bereavement benefits, which are paid only to people who are married or in a civil partnership.”