Working with HIV

posted: 27/08/2009

'Working with HIV' is the first major survey of what it is like to be living with HIV and in paid work in the UK. George House Trust service users and staff contributed a lot of information and ideas to this new report from NAT (National AIDS Trust).
 

The research may surprise many because it shows that the health effects of HIV have little impact on very many people’s ability to work - thanks to better treatment. However the stigma surrounding HIV still creates barriers in work.

1,800 gay men living with HIV took part in the survey, which was helped greatly by focus groups of gay men and black Africans living with HIV. 38 people joined several focus groups across the country including in Manchester. The research, conducted with City University, London, is summarised in the report ‘Working with HIV’. 
 

The Guardian report on this includes an interview with Andy Hewlett, a Metropolitan police officer working in London, who was diagnosed with HIV 15 years ago.

More than half say HIV has no impact on their work
The research found people with HIV working in a wide range of jobs at all levels. Over half (58 per cent) surveyed said living with HIV had no impact on their working life. However one in ten people said treatment side effects did have some effect. Being diagnosed with HIV or changing treatments were also flash-points when HIV had an impact.
 

1 in 3 have no time off for HIV
Despite this, over a third (34 per cent) had not taken any days off to attend HIV clinic appointments in the previous 12 months.
 

Telling people at work goes well for most
60 per cent had told someone at work about their HIV, over three-quarters of whom (77 per cent) reported a generally positive reaction. But fear of something bad happening if you tell someone at work bothers almost 1 in 3.

 Not telling people at work was usually explained by saying there was ‘no-need’, although 53 per cent feared poor treatment and 57 per cent worried their confidentiality would be breached.
 

Discrimination
1 in 5 of the people who had told someone at work about their HIV had experienced discrimination in their current or previous job. The most common forms of discrimination were being treated differently, or excluded from things, and breaches of confidentiality. 4 out of 10 people who had disclosed their HIV status and then faced discrimination in a previous job believed they had lost their job because of their disclosure at work.
 

Lessons for employers
The research looked into what kinds of reasonable adjustments people with HIV asked their employers for. The most common requested were

• time off to go to clinic appointment, and
• flexibility over working hours.

Both of these are simple and inexpensive requests for employers to agree.
 

Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT, comments:
“The overall picture for people with HIV at work is a positive one. It is important for employers and HR [Human Resources] professionals to realise that people with HIV can and do make valuable contributions to the UK workforce. Today, often it is not the health of people with HIV that affects their working ability but attitudes of employers or colleagues.
A cultural change is needed in workplaces across the UK. Simple, proactive steps by employers to show they are understand HIV and would be supportive of disclosure will have a dramatic effect on the working lives of people with HIV.” 
 

Professor Jonathan Elford, City University, London, comments:
“This is the first large-scale research project in the UK to explore the experiences at work of people living with HIV. This kind of research is vital for building up a true picture of the reality of living and working with HIV in the UK today as well as the challenges people still face.
The overall picture presented by the study is a positive one. People with HIV who had a job were generally satisfied with their working lives. Yet, important areas for improvement remain. Disclosing your HIV status at work remains difficult; discrimination still goes on; and some people are still unaware of their employment rights under the Disability Discrimination Act. In addition, fewer people with HIV have jobs compared to the national average.” 
 

Recommendations for employers and HR professionals include:

• Have a specific policy that addresses HIV and incorporates it into diversity or disability training
• Understand their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, the sorts of adjustments that people living with HIV may need in the workplace and the ease with which they can be accommodated
• Take proactive steps to raise awareness of HIV at work (e.g. by marking World AIDS Day)

summary of the report Working with HIV

full report Working with HIV

For information and resources about HIV at work from NAT such as free to download Employers pack

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