Why HIV is an issue for Employee Representatives
How is HIV spread?
What is the risk of HIV transmission in the workplace?
Does the law in Jersey protect people living with HIV?
What can I do as a Trade Union or Employee Representative?
Policy
Health and safety
Disclosure
Issues for Trade Union and Employee Representatives
The majority of people living with HIV in the UK are of working age. 76% of people diagnosed with HIV in the UK are between the ages of 15 and 39. Therefore it is highly likely that HIV could directly or indirectly affect one of your members.
As an employee representative you will no doubt be familiar with issues concerning racial and sexual discrimination in the workplace, as well as dealing with matters of unfair dismissal and representing your members in all kinds of disputes. But would you know what to do if one of your members had problems with employment because of their HIV status?
People living with HIV, or who are thought to have HIV, can be subjected to harassment, abuse or discrimination. This can be fuelled by ignorance about how HIV is transmitted or prejudice against the two groups most affected in the UK (gay men and Black Africans) by linking HIV with homophobia, racism or anti-immigration sentiment.
Whether it’s fear and ignorance about how HIV is transmitted, dislike of groups of people most affected or disapproval of other people’s behaviour, HIV discrimination is a real issue in the workplace.
Whatever the cause, HIV-related discrimination at work is wrong.
How is HIV spread?
- Through sex with an infected partner where semen, vaginal secretions or blood enters the body. Condoms can prevent sexual transmission of HIV.
- Through sharing injecting equipment with someone who is HIV positive (e.g. for drug use).
- From an HIV positive mother to her child during pregnancy, childbirth or breast-feeding – medical treatment and advice to mothers can considerably reduce this risk.
What is the risk of HIV transmission in the workplace?
In a limited number of jobs, workers may face risk of HIV infection through accidental direct exposure to infected blood (for example, some healthcare workers and laboratory technicians). In almost every known case, exposure at work has resulted from an accident with a needle/syringe. Outside of these contexts, normal health and safety precautions protect employees against infection at work. HIV cannot be transmitted through normal work or social contact, for example, sharing cutlery, sneezing, shaking hands, using the same glass, toilet seats or using a keyboard.
Does the law in Jersey protect people living with HIV?
In the UK, the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (DDA) protects people living with HIV from discrimination in employment, trade union membership and the provision of goods and services, including the letting and selling of property, from the moment of diagnosis.
People living with HIV are protected against unfair dismissal and/or discrimination in recruitment, promotion, training, and benefits.
Employers are responsible for their own practice as well as for taking steps to prevent harassment or discrimination by colleagues or others in the workplace.
People living with HIV are also entitled to ’reasonable adjustments’ in the workplace. This means changing features of the workplace that cause ’substantial disadvantage’. In practice this might mean making changes to the job, negotiating flexible working hours or giving time off for treatment. The National AIDS Trust leaflet Positively Employed gives more information about protection of people affected by HIV in the UK.
In Jersey people living with HIV do not have similar protection under the law but an increasing number of enlightened employers are responding to their own ethical codes by introducing strong humanitarian policies against HIV discrimination.
They are finding that "doing the right thing" means they can avoid disruptive disputes over health and safety and deliver a style and substance of management that they can be proud of. They are also finding that by establishing HIV education programmes for their employees they can play a vital role in preventing the spread of the virus.
What can I do as a Trade Union or Employee Representative?
Policy
Make sure that your employer is committed to equal treatment for people with HIV and has a policy that covers how they deal with situations where employees disclose that they have HIV.
The employer’s policy should include:
- a principle of non-discrimination on the grounds of actual or perceived HIV status
- a commitment to confidentiality and privacy
- general prohibition of mandatory HIV testing of employees
- procedures for dealing with the management of an HIV positive current or future employee
- information about instruction and training for employees and managers.
Health and safety
Employers should also have health and safety procedures that minimise the risk of accidental exposure to HIV and other infections where employees are genuinely at risk because of the nature of their job.
The procedures should include:
- an assessment of risk of exposure in individual tasks
- procedures for controlling the risk
- reporting and recording procedures for incidents of exposure
- contingency plans for medical treatment and advice for employees who may have been exposed to HIV infection at work.
Disclosure
Employees do not have to disclose their HIV status (unless they are healthcare workers doing ’invasive procedures’) and there is no justification for an employer to ask unless the person works in areas where there is a genuine possibility that it may affect their ability to perform their job. Employees in this situation should be advised to consult their trade union representative, professional body or an HIV advocacy group such as ACET, in confidence for advice.
Issues for Trade Union and Employee Representatives
Representatives may be required to:
- help fight discrimination and challenge prejudiced attitudes
- support HIV positive members when requesting ’reasonable adjustments’
- advise members on pension and retirement options, or support those able to return to work after a break as a result of effective HIV treatments.
ACET can support representatives with further advice and support on HIV issues as well as providing training for representatives on all the issues associated with HIV.
Last updated April 2010