QuestionsQuestions (DOLE DEPARTMENT ORDER NO. 102-10)
The guidelines apply to all workplaces and establishments in the private sector.
Yes. It is mandatory for all private workplaces to have a policy on HIV and AIDS and implement a workplace program in accordance with RA 8504 and its IRR and relevant labor and international standards.
Yes. The HIV and AIDS workplace policy and program may be separate or integrated into existing occupational safety and health policy and program.
Management and workers’ representatives must collaborate in developing and implementing the policy and program.
It may be included as provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The DOLE Inter-Agency Committee (chaired by the Occupational Safety and Health Center) assists, and DOLE Regional Offices serve as technical advisers.
Employers must provide workers with standardized basic information on HIV and AIDS and cover topics including: magnitude of the epidemic; nature and transmission; prevention including responsible sexual behavior and condom promotion/provision; diagnosis, care, support, and treatment; impact on individuals/families/communities/workplace; and salient features of national laws including RA 8504 and DOLE national workplace policy.
Yes. Employers are encouraged to extend IEC to contractors and supply chain workers, families, the community, and other establishments as part of CSR and multi-sectoral partnership.
Workers must not be discriminated against pre- to post-employment (including hiring, promotion, assignment) regardless of actual, perceived, or suspected HIV status, and they must not be terminated based on such HIV status.
Access to personal data must follow confidentiality rules consistent with RA 8504 and the ILO Code of Practice; job applicants/workers must not be asked to disclose HIV-related information; coworkers must not be obliged to reveal such information; HIV/AIDS-related information must be kept strictly confidential and only in medical files with limited access to medical personnel or as legally required under RA 8504/IRR.
No. Compulsory HIV testing as a precondition to employment and/or provision of any kind of service is unlawful.
Employers must encourage positive health-seeking behavior including Voluntary Confidential Counseling and Testing (VCCT) and must provide referral procedures and the list of VCCT service providers.
Employers should take measures to reasonably accommodate workers with AIDS-related illnesses; and through agreements with management and workers, employers should support flexible leave arrangements, rescheduling of working time, and arrangements for return to work.
If feasible, establishments shall provide preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services for STIs to minimize HIV risk. If not available, management must provide access through a referral mechanism to nearest social hygiene clinics and/or private/government health service providers and positive community/HIV support groups.
Workers must comply with universal precaution and the preventive measures.
Employers must provide appropriate personal protection equipment to prevent HIV exposure, especially for those handling blood and other body fluids.
DOLE Regional Offices, in collaboration with DOH, DILG, and LGUs, oversee and monitor, while OSHC, IAC members, and RAATs provide technical assistance; BWC through DOLE Regional Offices enforces the Guidelines and related OSH standards and legislation.