Many people living with HIV are concerned about HIV and employment and any issues that may raise.  For the vast majority of jobs, there is no requirement that means you must tell your employer about your HIV diagnosis.  If you are worried about your confidentiality being breached, or being treated differently, then you may want to consider this carefully, but employers do have a responsibility to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ (for example, time off for clinic appointments) under the law.  People with HIV and who disclose their HIV status are protected under the Equality Act 2010.

SEXUAL TRANSMISSION

Different kinds of sex have different risks attached, anal sex is the most risky, followed by vaginal sex.  There is also a risk with oral sex, but the risk is greatly reduced.  HIV is present in sexual fluids - semen, pre-ejaculatory fluid, vaginal fluids and anal mucus and this is why it can be passed on during sex.  Whether HIV is transmitted is dependent on a number of factors, and these can be quite complex.  It is known that viral load is implicated in transmission and the higher the viral load, the higher the risk of transmission.