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By: John Howard

HIV does not affect ability to work

A new report by NAT (National AIDS Trust), conducted with City University, London, has found that the health effects of HIV are having little impact on people’s ability to work because of improvements in treatment, but that the stigma surrounding HIV is still creating barriers in the workplace.
 
Over half of the 1,800 gay men surveyed, who worked in a diverse range of jobs at all levels, said that being HIV positive had no impact on their working life.

One in ten noted the impact of side effects from drugs, and receiving a diagnosis or a change in medication were also identified as HIV flash-points. But over a third had not taken any days off to attend HIV clinic appointments in the previous twelve months.
 
Of the respondents who had disclosed their HIV status to someone at work (60%), over three-quarters reported a generally positive reaction, but of all those surveyed almost a third either faced or feared a negative reaction to disclosure.

The key reason for non-disclosure was ‘no-need’, but 53% feared poor treatment and 57% worried about breaches of confidentiality.
 
Discrimination had been experienced by a fifth of respondents who had disclosed their HIV-positive status in their current or previous job; the most common forms of discrimination reported were being treated differently or excluded and breaches of confidentiality.

More than a third who had disclosed their HIV status and had experienced discrimination in a previous job believed they had lost their job as a result.
 
Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT commented: “The overall picture for people with HIV at work is a positive one. It is important for employers and HR 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.”
 
The full report, Working with HIV, can be seen at www.nat.org.uk