TUC seeks positive action from employers on HIV

New advice on dealing with HIV and AIDS in the workplace was launched last month by the TUC in the run-up to World AIDS Day on 1 December.

The advice,developed with the support of the National AIDS Trust, covers topics including the risks of transmitting HIV and whether HIV-positive workers have to disclose their condition to their employers.

It also outlines the key elements that should be contained in workplace policies on HIV and AIDS, tying in with the TUC's demand for employers to introduce such policies.

The latest statistics from the Health Protection Agency, which advises the government on health policies and programmes, show that there are now 53,000 people in Britain living with HIV. Most are of working age, and improvements in drugs and therapies mean they are able to live and work much longer than ever before.

However, they can also face ignotrance and intolerance at work - launching its guidance, the TUC cited case studies involving a shopworker moved to warehouse duties and ordered to wear a boiler suit and surgical gloves, and a long-standing employee who had to take early retirement after his employer breached its duty of confidentiality over his HIV status.

"With so much discrimination and prejudice surrounding HIV and AIDS, many individuals can suffer stigma, isolation and depression," a TUC spokesperson said. "It also means that many people are reluctant to disclose their HIV status to their employer."

Deputy general secretary Frances O'Grady added: "With a year-on-year increase in the numbers of people with HIV, there is no room for complacency among employers. That is why the TUC is demanding that an HIV and AIDS policy is adopted in all workplaces."

The TUC guidance is available at www.worksmart.org.uk