Support for your Members
Support for your members affected by HIV
Assurance of confidentiality
Medical Reports
Raising awareness of HIV
Dealing with harassment
Dealing with discrimination
As a union representative it is quite possible that someone living with or affected by HIV will ask for your support. This could be someone who has been HIV positive for some time, someone who is newly diagnosed with HIV, or someone who is caring for someone living with HIV.
There are many ways you can offer support to someone affected by HIV, but if you are unsure of how to deal with a situation you should contact your branch office for support or contact ACET for more information.
Assurance of confidentiality
If some has disclosed their HIV status to you then first of all you should assure them that you will not discuss this information with anyone else without their express permission.
In most cases, there is no reason why an employer should have to be informed. If an employer is informed of someone’s HIV status, that information must be kept in confidence. Access to that information should be limited to personnel or occupational health departments.
An employer who breaks this confidentiality will almost certainly be in breach of the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005.
Medical Reports
Employers do not have the right to know the results of medical examinations.
If an employer requests a medical report, then all the employer needs to know is if the employee is fit to work. An employer must also obtain written consent from an employee before applying to the employee’s doctor for a medical report.
An employee has the right to view this report before it is passed to the employer. They also have the right to request amendments to the report.
Most of the time there is no reason to mention HIV. The only exceptions to this are in certain fields of medicine such as surgery and midwifery. All doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, medical students and any other health workers should be familiar with the Department of Health guidelines relating to HIV infected healthcare workers, which can be accessed here
Raising awareness of HIV
As an employee representative, you can be proactive in raising awareness of HIV.
Here are some suggestions of actions you can take:
- Negotiate an HIV policy
- Facilitate HIV awareness training
- Explain the facts about HIV transmission and correct misinformation
- Distribute posters and information, which can be obtained from ACET
- Discuss HIV at union meetings
- Run an awareness and fundraising event for World AIDS Day on December 1. ACET can provide you with red ribbons and other promotional materials
Dealing with harassment
Harassment occurs when someone at work (manager, supervisor or colleague) behaves in such a way that violates the dignity of one of your members or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive atmosphere for someone living with HIV, or any other disability.
If one of your members is being subjected to harassment, it can have a seriously detrimental effect on their self-esteem and general health.
If someone is being harassed because of actual or perceived HIV status, you must take action immediately. As a union rep it is your duty to protect your members from any form of harassment. You should demand that immediate disciplinary action is taken should this happen. Contact your branch for more support, or contact ACET for more information.
Educational programmes and awareness training can help prevent harassment from becoming an issue.
Dealing with discrimination
As a trade union or employee representative you may be called upon to support a member who has been discriminated against because they are living with HIV.
Misinformed attitudes often lead to people living with HIV being unfairly stigmatised because of their health status (or their perceived health status). This can lead to prejudice and discrimination. Sometimes other forms of prejudice including racism or homophobia can accompany HIV discrimination.
If one of your members is in this situation they will need a lot of support. This sort of situation can be extremely stressful, and if not dealt with quickly and effectively, it can have a detrimental effect on the health and well-being of the member you represent.
Unison, the public sector Trade Union has produced a useful booklet called Working with HIV and AIDS to advise reps on working with members living with HIV.
Last updated April 2010