Legal basis and related frameworks
- The Order is issued to strengthen the workplace response under Republic Act No. 8504, the Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998, and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).
- The Order aligns with the DOLE National Workplace Policy.
- The Order is implemented in collaboration with the Inter-Agency Committee (IAC) on STD. HIV and AIDS in the Workplace.
- The workplace program is guided by the Labor Code and other international standards, including the ILO Code of Practice on HIV and AIDS and the World of Work.
- The Order’s HIV and AIDS confidentiality rules are consistent with Republic Act No. 8504 and the ILO Code of Practice.
Purpose and program direction
- The guidelines provide directions for employers, employees, and program implementers to implement HIV and AIDS prevention and control in the workplace.
- The policy and program aim to promote a workplace response that covers education, prevention, confidentiality, non-discrimination, and appropriate accommodations and referrals.
- The guidelines support a multi-sectoral partnership in prevention and control through workplace, community, and government collaboration.
Coverage and who must comply
- The guidelines apply to all workplaces and establishments in the private sector.
- The Order requires every private workplace to have a workplace HIV and AIDS policy and implement a workplace program.
- The policy and program may be implemented as a separate policy or integrated into existing occupational safety and health policies and programs.
Workplace policy and program requirements
- Every private workplace must have a policy on HIV and AIDS and must implement a workplace program in accordance with Republic Act No. 8504, its IRR, the DOLE National Workplace Policy goals, the Labor Code, and relevant international standards.
- The development and implementation of the policy and program must involve collaborative efforts from management and workers’ representatives.
- Where there is an organization of workers or a workers’ union, the policy and program may be included as provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreements.
- The DOLE Inter-Agency Committee, chaired by the Occupational Safety and Health Center, assists workplaces in formulation and implementation.
- DOLE Regional Offices serve as technical advisers in their respective areas on HIV and AIDS prevention and control in the workplace.
Core components: education, social policy, and services
- Workplace policy and program must include Advocacy, Information, Education and Training.
- Workplace policy and program must include Social Policy, including non-discrimination, confidentiality, and work accommodation.
- Workplace policy and program must include Diagnosis, Treatment and Referral for other services, including Voluntary Confidential Counseling and Testing (VCCT) for HIV.
- All workers must be provided with standardized basic information and education on HIV and AIDS.
- Employers must provide appropriate, accurate, and updated HIV and AIDS information, including topics on:
- the magnitude of the HIV and AIDS epidemic;
- the nature of HIV/AIDS, its mode of transmission, and causes;
- ways to prevent HIV infection, including responsible sexual behavior and condom promotion and/or provision;
- diagnosis, care, support, and treatment of HIV and AIDS;
- the impact of AIDS on the individual, family, community, and workplace;
- the establishment’s workplace policy and program on HIV and AIDS;
- salient features of national laws and policies, including Republic Act 8504 and emphasis on provisions concerning workers and the workplace;
- the DOLE National HIV and AIDS Workplace Policy and its goals.
- Employers are encouraged to extend advocacy, information, education, and training to contractors and supply chain, workers’ families, the community, and other establishments as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.
- The workplace education package on HIV and AIDS based on the curriculum developed by the IAC must be used extensively to intensify information and education drives; the module may be expanded based on enterprise needs.
- Program implementers, occupational safety and health personnel, training officers, human resource officers, employers, workers, DOLE trainers, and labor standards enforcers must continuously receive education and training on HIV and AIDS.
Social policy: non-discrimination, confidentiality, accommodation
- Workers must not be discriminated against from pre to post-employment, including hiring, promotion, or assignment, regardless of HIV status, whether actual, perceived, or suspected.
- Workers must not be terminated from work when the basis is actual, perceived, or suspected HIV status.
- Access to personal data relating to a worker’s HIV status must be bound by confidentiality rules consistent with Republic Act No. 8504 and the ILO Code of Practice.
- Job applicants or workers must not be asked to disclose HIV-related personal information.
- Co-workers must not be obliged to reveal HIV-related personal information about fellow workers.
- HIV/AIDS-related information must be kept strictly confidential and kept only on medical files, with access strictly limited to medical personnel or when legally required under Republic Act No. 8504 and its IRR.
- Employers should take measures to reasonably accommodate workers with AIDS-related illnesses.
- Work accommodation measures must be supported through agreements between management and workers, using flexible leave arrangements, rescheduling of working time, and arrangement for return to work.
Diagnosis, treatment, referral, and VCCT
- Establishments must provide preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) to minimize the risk of HIV infection when feasible.
- When preventive, diagnostic, treatment, and other health services for STIs are not available in the establishment, management must provide access to those services.
- A referral mechanism must be developed so workers can access services from the nearest social hygiene clinics and/or private and government health service providers, and positive community/HIV support groups.
- Compulsory HIV testing as a precondition to employment and/or provision of any kind of service is unlawful.
- Management must encourage positive health-seeking behavior, which includes VCCT.
- Management must provide referral procedures for VCCT and the list of service providers.
Roles and responsibilities of employers and workers
Each employer, together with workers or labor organizations, must develop, implement, evaluate, and fund HIV and AIDS prevention and control in the workplace policy and program.
Each employer must address all aspects of implementing the workplace HIV and AIDS prevention and control policy and program through collaboration with company focal personnel for human resources and safety and health personnel.
Each employer must ensure that the company policy and program is known to all workers.
Each employer must ensure adherence of the policy and program to existing government legislations and guidelines, including provisions on leaves, benefits, and insurance.
Each employer must provide HIV and AIDS information, education, and training for the workforce; if not available within the establishment, the employer must provide access to information.
Each employer must maintain confidentiality of all information and records pertaining to HIV and AIDS status of workers.
Each employer must not force or condone forced disclosure of workers’ HIV status.
Each employer must ensure non-discriminatory practices in the workplace.
Each employer, together with company focal personnel for human resources and safety and health, must provide appropriate personal protective equipment to prevent HIV exposure, especially for those handling blood and other body fluids.
Each employer must continue improving the program by networking with government and organizations promoting HIV and AIDS prevention and control.
Workers must contribute to the formulation, abide by, and support the company HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Policy and Program.
Labor unions, federations, and workers organizations must take an active role in educating and training members on HIV and AIDS, including its prevention and control.
The labor unions’, federations’, and organizations’ education and training must promote and practice a healthy lifestyle emphasizing high-risk behavior and other risk factors that expose workers to increased risk of HIV infection.
Workers must practice non-discriminatory acts against co-workers.
Workers and workers’ organizations must not have access to personnel data relating to a worker’s HIV status, and confidentiality rules must apply in union and organization functions.
Workers must comply with universal precaution and preventive measures.
Workers living with HIV may be encouraged to inform their health care provider, such as the company physician, of their HIV status when work activities may increase risk of HIV infection and transmission or put the HIV-positive worker at risk for aggravation.
Workers must share information on prevention and control of HIV and AIDS with families and communities.
Implementation, monitoring, and enforcement
- Within the establishment, implementation must be monitored and evaluated periodically through the safety and health committee or its counterpart.
- DOLE Regional Offices, in collaboration with the Department of Health (DOH), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and local government units (LGUs), must oversee and monitor the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control in the Workplace Program for private establishments and disseminate information on the program.
- The Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC), members of the IAC on HIV and AIDS, and Regional AIDS Assistance Teams (RAATs) must provide preventive services and technical assistance in implementation.
- The Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC) through DOLE Regional Offices enforces these guidelines, related occupational safety and health standards, and other related policies and legislations.
Consequences for violations
- Violations of policy and program rules are subject to the pertinent provisions of Republic Act No. 8504.