What is HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy?

HIV/AIDS is a devastating health condition that affects every sphere of society including workplaces. It is for this reason that some companies are formulating policies and programmes that are aimed at removing stigma and discrimination and provide information on benefits for infected or affected employees.

AIDS-related illnesses have adverse implications on the productivity and profitability of any company that loses employees as a result of the AIDS pandemic. Therefore HIV/AIDS Workplace Policies are important in any company. 

What is HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy?

This is a written document that acknowledges the effects of HIV and other related illnesses on the smooth operation of a company. Since HIV/AIDS has been recognised as a workplace health concern, more and more companies in Zambia are formulating HIV/AIDS Workplace Policies that address the many issues surrounding HIV/AIDS. Although each and every workplace around the country has its own way of responding to the AIDS pandemic, a well-written HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy contains key factors that are internationally accepted.

What are the key contents of a HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy?

For any written document to be regarded as binding, it must be accepted by all parties involved. In this case, for any HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy to be deemed as binding, its structure, content, principles, objectives and aims must be agreed upon and endorsed by employers, employees and workers representatives, such as Trade Unions.

A proper HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy must be built on a foundation that includes the right to accurate information, employment benefits, freedom of association, equality and human dignity. 

Furthermore, HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy can be used as a tool for addressing the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV or AIDS. Therefore, it should always include a section on how stigma can be reduced.

Additional elements such as guidelines on disciplinary measures for co-workers who discriminate against people living with HIV “can be included depending on the workplace and the parties involved,” says Chungu Kampamba, a Lusaka-based AIDS Educator and employee living with HIV.

Checklist

Mywage Zambia has compiled a simple checklist to help you understand your HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy.

• Non-discrimination

No employer, employees or workers’ representatives should discriminate against employees with HIV. They have equal rights to human dignity and must therefore not be discriminated against.

• Confidentiality

No employee must be subjected to disclosure of their HIV status at any point. Any employer who discloses the HIV status of his or her workers has breached confidentiality and may face any agreed action that might include termination of employment.

• Voluntary HIV Testing

Employers will under no circumstances subject their employees to mandatory or involuntary HIV testing. Routine HIV testing can only be conducted if it is part of the agreed HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy. For example, workers in the hospitality, food or beverage industry may be required to undergo routine medical check-ups that may include HIV testing due to the nature of their jobs. Even in this instance, HIV testing should be voluntary. 

• Safe Working Environment

Every employer must ensure that employees operate in a safe working environment with minimal possibilities of contracting HIV at their places of work.  It is common procedure for employers to ensure that they provide a safe and healthy working environment. No employee should contract HIV as a result of a poor or unsafe working environment.

• Awareness and Sensitisation

As a way of mitigating the spread of HIV in places of work, employers in collaboration with employees and workers’ representatives must ensure that they conduct periodic awareness programmes. Employers must ensure that they provide accurate information on the dangers of HIV, the benefits of abstinence, being faithful to one partner and consistent condom use (or ABC for short).

• Access to Treatment

Employees that are diagnosed with HIV can be productive given proper, support, care and treatment. It is therefore the duty of an employer to ensure that workers that have been tested HIV positive are given the right treatment and care. For example, an employer can help secure life-prolonging drugs for its infected employees for a period of about 12 months after which they can decide on the next course of action. 

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Find out more about Searching for Work and Women and Work on Mywage Zambia.