When you're ill at work

If you are about to start or change medications, you may be worried about managing any side-effects when you are in the workplace. Planning ahead can be invaluable here.

Here are some things to consider:

• It may be possible for your doctor to sign you off to avoid starting your new treatments at the same time as you are managing work. 
• Is it possible for you to reduce the amount of work you have for the period directly after you start on new drugs? This may be easier if you have disclosed your status to your employer (human resources). 
• Even when colleagues do know your status, managing side-effects like nausea and drowsiness can be difficult. If your employer doesn’t know your status, have a think about where you could get some support or who you could turn to for help. 
• Remember there are other professionals at your clinic apart from your doctor who can help. Dieticians, clinical nurse specialists and health advisors will all have experience of helping people manage side-effects and may have some useful tips.

For most people, any side-effects of HIV medication usually settle down and get less severe over the first few weeks. In the few cases where they don’t, you can always speak to your doctor about ways to manage the side-effects or even about changing treatments.

If you have a minor illness which means you need a few days off work, you should be treated in the same way as any other employee with a minor illness.

If you constantly need time off work for illness, you should be treated the same way as any other employee with a chronic illness. As HIV is considered a disability from the point of diagnosis, any absences related to your HIV should be recorded as 'disability-related' rather than a standard sick day.

In order for this to apply you must let your employer know that you have a disability covered under the Equality Act 2010, although you do not have to specify that it is HIV. It is illegal for your employer to use disability-related sick leave as a reason to dismiss you.

Check the parts of your contract that cover what happens if you’re sick. If you have any questions you can call THT Direct for information on your rights.

Employers have a legal duty to look after your mental welfare as well as your physical health. They are entitled, though, to assume you can cope with the day-to-day pressures of your job in most cases.

If you've told your employer that you have a condition covered under the Equality Act 2010 (it is up to you whether or not you tell them that this condition is HIV) then they have a legal obligation to make what are called ‘reasonable adjustments’, in addition to their general duty of care. A common example of a reasonable adjustment is paid time off for essential medical appointments, such as appointments with your consultant. Other examples can be: 

• Flexible hours
• Work from home 
• Move to a more suitable post 
• Discount your 'disability-related absences'

If you become ill at work it is best practise to see an occupational health advisor. It is the occupational health adviser that assesses and discusses with you kind of adjustments you may need, and then makes recommendations to your human resources department to put them into place. Find out more about how the occupational health process works on the equality section here.

If you feel that you are becoming stressed about your work for any reason - perhaps because there has been an increase in your workload - it is very important that you tell your employer. This will give them an opportunity to do something about it. It is particularly important to do this if you need to take sick leave because of stress.

If your employer does not make recommended reasonable adjustments for you, they may have discriminated against you. To find out what rights you may have to take legal action against your employer, please contact THT Direct.