More than 85% of managers think people living with HIV still face discrimination in the workplace, according to a survey of employers and employees carried out by the Positive Futures Partnership. Almost half (40%) thought people living with HIV should not be allowed to work as chefs, while 24% thought they should not work as waiters. Most respondents thought it would be acceptable for people living with HIV to work as a cleaner (85% agreed strongly) but only 38% thought someone living with HIV could undertake a nursing role. The survey also found widespread lack of understanding and education about HIV in the workplace. Stephen Bitti, chief executive of the UKC (UK Coalition of People Living with HIV and AIDS), said: “Rates of HIV continue to grow at an alarming rate in the UK. There are currently estimated to be about 66,500 people living with the virus in the UK. “With advances in medication, the biggest barriers in employment for people living with HIV are not health, but stigma and discrimination in the workplace.”
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