Global HIV

Policy

Purpose:

To ensure that employees of the Female Health Company (FHC) have the greatest possible support in preventing, living with and working in the field of HIV/AIDS. Additionally, to ensure that every HIV positive person is treated with respect and not discriminated against on joining or during their employment with FHC and that their privacy and confidentiality are protected.

Responsibility:

Managers:
Managers are expected to comply fully with this policy and take appropriate steps to provide equal opportunity and equality of treatment of those who are HIV positive. Furthermore, managers are responsible for providing information and training to staff on HIV and AIDS appropriate to their business unit needs. Managers will supply and explain the Company HIV/AIDS policy to employees upon adoption of this policy and upon hire of new employees.

Employees:
Employees should treat other employees who are HIV positive with respect and in a non-discriminatory manner.
HIV positive employees are expected to act in a reasonable manner, so as not to create risk, perceived or actual, to their colleagues or FHC.

Definitions:

HIV: Human Immunodeficiency Virus

AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

HIV positive: the state of carrying the Human Immunodeficiency Virus in the bloodstream in detectable quantities.

FHC: the Female Health Company

The Company: The Female Health Company

Scope:

This policy applies to all FHC employees worldwide.

Statement:

Individuals who are HIV positive or are significantly affected by HIV or AIDS will not unjustifiably be discriminated against with respect to any condition of employment.

An individual so defined may include:
• an individual infected with HIV.
• an individual diagnosed with an AIDS-defining illness
• an individual affected by reason of his/her partner, or a member of his/her immediate family being infected with HIV or diagnosed with an AID-defining illness.

An employee living with or affected by HIV or AIDS is eligible for all company benefits provided to others in their cadre, class, level or status of work. No employee health benefit granted in the contractual agreement between the employee and the company may change due to HIV/AIDS status.

The Company will make reasonable adjustments to enable HIV infected and affected employees to remain in employment as long as possible and to avoid unfair disadvantage to an individual living with or affected by HIV/AIDS so long as the condition does not interfere with the individual’s ability to perform the essential functions of the job tasks and the condition does not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of the individual or others.

The contents of this policy are not contractual. An employee should refer to his/her work contract for information relating to benefits of employment. However, it is the responsibility of every employee to familiarise him/herself with and comply with this policy. The Company reserves the right to amend this policy at any time.

Policy:

Discrimination against any individual who is HIV positive will not be permitted or condoned within FHC. It is the Company’s policy not to discriminate in its employment practices against individuals with any medical condition, including HIV and AIDS. Individuals will be treated fairly and with respect, whatever their illness or disability.

The Company will:

• Not test for HIV as a prerequisite for employment or continuing
employment.
• Provide healthcare benefits in a non-discriminatory way.
• Make reasonable accommodations to support individuals who have HIV or AIDS so that they can remain employed by the Company for as long as is reasonably practical.
• Maintain medical confidentiality at all times and treat a breach of confidentiality as a policy violation subject to disciplinary action.
• Not discriminate against an employee whose HIV status or refusal to be tested affects travel or visa application for business purposes.
• Not tolerate discrimination by an employee against a colleague who is HIV positive.
• Provide information and training to staff on HIV and AIDS appropriate to their needs.
• Provide access to free or reasonably priced male and female condoms at the workplace. (Or provide a reasonable number of male and female condoms per employee to support their HIV prevention efforts).

Procedures:

Precautions against HIV transmission at work

The health and safety of employees is of paramount importance. Expert medical information indicates that HIV and AIDS are not communicable by normal activity within the work environment. In addition, there is no generally accepted evidence that other individuals are exposed to an increased risk to their health because of the presence of individuals who are living with or affected by HIV or AIDS. All employees will therefore be expected to continue normal working relationships with a colleague who is living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.

Any employee who refuses to work with a colleague living with or affected by HIV or AIDS, or subjects that colleague to harassment or discrimination will be subject to disciplinary action and/or termination. This would include spreading rumours about an individual’s supposed HIV status. The Company will not tolerate discrimination or harassment against individuals on the grounds of sex, race, sexual orientation or disability, whether or not this is related to concerns about HIV or AIDS.

An employee living with HIV will be expected to act in a responsible manner, so as not to create any risk of exposure to the infection to his/her colleagues. Sharing of bodily fluids which may contain HIV should be carefully avoided by all employees. Failure to do so will result in disciplinary action.

The strict hygiene precautions already employed by the factory employees,
and the normal hygiene precautions of all other employees will be based on
the assumption
that anyone be infected with HIV or AIDS and will be applied to any accident that occurs whilst at work. Such precautions will minimize the risks of infection from HIV as well as other pathogens.

Should an employee, as a result of his/her employment with the Company, be accidentally exposed to HIV, then the company will provide appropriate support and assistance.

Procedure where the Company becomes aware of an individual living with or affected by HIV or AIDS:

An employee living with or affected by HIV or AIDS will not be expected to notify the Company of this condition. However, when an employee does notify his/her manager, reasonable adjustments can be made to the work-related arrangement. Adjustments may include flexibility in work times or changes to the working environment.

As with all medical diagnoses, the HIV or AIDS diagnosis is confidential. This confidentiality is maintained by that manager who will not share that person’s identity with other management teams, but may consult the management team in a general fashion in order to negotiate appropriate accommodations. Only when written consent from the employee or there is a legal requirement to do so will the HIV/AIDS status of an employee be shared with any other specified party.

The decision to release medical information to colleagues is a personal one. Managers and individuals who gain knowledge of a colleague living with or affected by HIV/AIDS should understand the sensitive nature of this information and treat it as personal and confidential. Failure to comply will be treated as a disciplinary offense.

Applications for Employment:

The Company will never test for HIV as a prerequisite for employment or continuing employment.

All offers of employment may be subject to a satisfactory pre-employment medical examination. The company expects an applicant living with or affected by HIV or AIDS to disclose this through the pre-employment medical process only if this is relevant to the role he/she is applying for.

As with any other medical condition, if HIV or AIDS adversely affects the person’s ability to carry out the specific role for which they have applied, reasonable adjustments will be fully considered before deciding whether the offer of employment can continue.

Education:

The Company is committed to helping individuals more fully understand the HIV virus and related diseases. Employees will therefore be periodically provided with current information about HIV/AIDS. Information about the male and female condoms and their role in preventing HIV/AIDS transmission will be provided in all facilities where there are more than five employees.

The components of an education program may include:

• Educational workshops that cover the science of HIV, mode of infection, prevention, treatment and health management
• Information about how to receive local testing and support
• Family training and counselling
• Newsletters
• Description of employee health benefits via the NHS, company insurance policy or local resources
• Surveys about the HIV/AIDS related needs of employees with appropriate responses to the findings
• Distribution of literature
• Designated HIV/AIDS resource point employees
• Other state of the art interventions

Additionally, all UK based employees have access via the National Health Service (NHS) and other local charities to:

• their local General Practitioner who will serve as a first point of contact. This provider can refer patients to more specialised centres
• the booklet “Not feeling well? NHS Direct Self-Help Guide” that includes descriptions of all methods of contraception and transmission prevention. It also states the symptoms of common sexually transmitted infections and where further diagnosis and treatment can be obtained
• a 24-hour confidential telephone help line which is staffed by health professionals who can advise on health problems and questions. They are also able to refer individuals to more specialized information
• a website based on the guide and help lines mentioned above. This has a facility called “Browsealoud” , a speech enabling program for those with reading difficulties
• walk-in centres open 15 hours a day, seven days a week. These are confidential, no appointment necessary clinics where a safe and caring environment can be expected
• GUM clinics that are situated in most major hospitals where testing, advice and counselling are available. The nearest clinic is within half a mile of the factory.
• Free contraception and barrier devices via the Family Planning Association (FPA). The nearest clinic is within a half mile of the factory.

Overseas Travel:

An employee whose job requires him/her to travel abroad on behalf of the Company must comply with the health requirements and entry restrictions of the countries of his/her destination or transit. This may include the necessity for the employee to be medically screened.

If an employee requires an HIV negative certificate in order to travel on behalf of the company, taking the test will be voluntary and the result will remain confidential. If the employee refuses the test and the test is mandatory, an alternate candidate for the trip will be selected and no disciplinary action will be taken for refusing to take a test.

If an employee is unable to undertake duties that involve international travel because he or she is HIV positive, the Company will consider reasonable adjustments.