Information for Employers

Creating a supportive environments

The Canadian Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability, sexual orientation, race or gender. But stigma and discrimination is still a reality for people living with HIV.

As an employer, it is your responsibility to respect the dignity and rights of your employees and create a safe and healthy workplace. At the same time, creating a supportive environment will enhance the environment for all employees, improving their productivity and morale. In your company or organization:

Set a positive tone: It’s important to model positive attitudes and behaviours and encourage them in all employees. Be clear that your company doesn’t discriminate against employees or job applicants who have HIV, that you value diversity and that you support all your employees equally.
Respect confidentiality: Every employee has the right to confidentiality. Medical history is private and confidential and some employees will prefer not to disclose their HIV-status. When health information is shared in order to arrange benefits or reasonable accommodation, it must be kept confidential.
Provide a supportive benefits package: Like all employees, people with HIV will benefit from an employee insurance plan that provides good health benefits and long term disability coverage. Advise your insurance carrier that you are interested in long-term disability (LTD) plans that are more flexible – ones that allow for a partial return to work complemented by partial LTD payments. In your government-relations work, advocate for support to address the increased costs associated with more flexible plans.
Provide reasonable accommodation: HIV is unpredictable. Someone with HIV will experience periods of good health and periods of illness. You are required to provide reasonable accommodations just as you would to any employee with a disability. Many accommodations are relatively simple to put in place; others will require more flexibility.
Make sure you have an up-to-date workplace policy on HIV/AIDS. This can be included as part of a general policy on episodic disabilities. Policies guide how managers and employees should act. They state what is expected and how a company or organization will fulfill its responsibility to create a supportive workplace that is free of discrimination. Any policy must be supported by employee education to help create a supportive environment. The Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development (ICAD) has developed a model policy. The Canadian AIDS Society also provides a helpful guide to developing HIV-friendly workplace policies.
Educate human resources staff: In a 2006 CWGHR survey of human resource professionals across Canada, 60 per cent said that they had little or no knowledge of how to address the needs of people with episodic disabilities. Human resource staff play a key role in supporting employee productivity by managing benefits, accommodations, return to work policies, and other supports. CWGHR offers workshops to human resource personnel and managers to assist them in understanding and dealing with the needs of people with HIV and other employees with episodic disabilities.