Currently in the UK there is a mixed level of legal protection for people living with HIV. For example, whilst the law does provide some protection from workplace discrimination, it doesn’t recognise HIV-related hate crime.

It can be very helpful to know and understand your protection and rights under the law, as well as current limitations and problems.

We disagree with the problematic areas of the law and we’re working hard to get them changed, but in the meantime we believe it’s important to help you understand those areas so that you can take informed decisions.

Protection under the law for people living with HIV

Very few UK laws give specific protection to people living with HIV.

The Human Rights Act 1998 incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into UK domestic law. This fundamental law should provide a "safety net" when other laws fail to provide adequate protection for people living with HIV. Unfortunately, to make use of this "safety net" an individual has to pursue their claim for protection through the courts. That is why we campaign to enshrine legal protection for people living with HIV in statutory law. If you're interested, you can find out more about our latest thinking on the law, stigma and discrimination.

The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 explicitly offers people living with HIV protection from discrimination effectively from the point of diagnosis in most settings, including the workplace and in healthcare settings like a GP practice.  The Equality Bill currently going through Parliament will replace the DDA with one piece of  legislation covering all areas of equality (for example race and sexual orientation). NAT warmly welcomed the introduction of this new and comprehensive Equality Bill, something we have advocated for for a long time. For the first time this Bill will prohibit the use of discrimination by perception and association. This protection will make a real difference to the partners, families and carers of people living with HIV, as well as to those sometimes thought to be HIV positive such as gay or bisexual men.It sends out the clear message that discrimination on any level is not acceptable.
We are also celebrating the inclusion within the Equality Bill of a ground breaking clause that will for the first time see the prohibition of health questionnaires prior to an offer of employment. This is a significant step forward towards the end to discrimination in recruitment for people living with HIV. NAT has worked with politicians from all parties to secure this outcome, playing a key role in the campaign to prohibit the use of these questionnaires that have enabled less scrupulous employers to filter out applicants with a disability or long term health condition. You can find out more about recruitment, employment and workplace issues in our separate section on employment and also find out what guidance and information we give employers.

Under the Disability Discrimination Act, it is illegal to discriminate against people living with HIV.  If you have experienced discrimination in your workplace, advice on how to make a complaint and resolve the issue is available from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)

Anyone who has been discriminated against by their employer may bring an action in an employment tribunal.  Cases of discrimination in the provision of goods and/or services may be brought to a county court.  However, some people who have experienced discrimination do not pursue these options because of fear of additional stigma and discrimination if their HIV status became public during case hearings.

There is currently no mechanism in place to guarantee confidentiality or anonymity for people living with HIV who initiate or participate in hearings.   However, there are some limited measures in place to protect identities in the tribunal and court processes. See Confidentiality in Discrimination Cases: Employment Tribunals and County Courts

Problematic areas of the law for people living with HIV

Unfortunately, there are a number of problematic - or potentially problematic - areas of UK law.

The law currently does not offer adequate protection from HIV-related hate crime. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 legislated to deter hate crime but this law was enacted before the changes introduced by the DDA 2005. The definition of disability in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 is that of "physical or mental impairment" which means that many people living with HIV are not protected. NAT is calling for the definition of disability in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to be updated to ensure that people with HIV are protected from the point of diagnosis. Here you can read our case for an amendment to the law to ensure there are no longer two "classes" of disabled person - those protected in law against hate crime and those who are not.

Since 2001, people living with HIV in the UK have been prosecuted for the reckless transmission of HIV. There are real concerns that these prosecutions are undermining efforts to stop the spread of HIV in the UK and are increasing stigma around HIV. We are campaigning for an end to prosecutions of reckless transmission of HIV through consensual sex. Whilst prosecutions continue, we are working to ensure that the best possible guidance is available to prosecutors, lawyers, police, support organisations, healthcare workers and people living with HIV. For more information see our section on criminal prosecutions.

Many people living with HIV experience multiple discrimination (for example discrimination on the basis both of your HIV status and sexuality, or HIV status and race). Unfortunately current discrimination law doesn't acknowledge that such multiple discrimination occurs.  We were therefore delighted that the Equality Bill currently in the House of Lords has introduced provisions to protect people from multiple discrimination. If you are interested, then find out about our latest thinking.

Recent proposals to update Public Health Law gave magistrates significant new powers which could have an impact on people living with HIV.  From the point at which these reforms were proposed we have expressed concern at possible inappropriate use of these powers in relation to people living with HIV.  We secured a commitment from Government during the legal passage of the reforms that effective safeguards will be introduced to ensure that powers are not misused and that the use of these new powers will be closely monitored.