Colleague or Viral Vector? The Legal Construction of the HIV-Positive Worker*

Many people affected by HIV suffer discrimination in the workplace, both in seeking jobs and at the hands of their employers and colleagues, this article considers critically the way in which the law can and does protect people affected in this way. It begins with an overview of the legal provisions in both statute and common law in England and Wales which may be applied to cases of discrimination on the basis of HIV infection. The practical implications of those provisions are then considered with reference to five cases of workplace discrimination related to the author by people so affected. The article ends with a consideration of the future possibilities for effective laws to combat HIV discrimination.