One in three Hong Kong corporations would disclose the HIV status of an infected employee without his consent or sack him to appease other staff, according to a study released by the Aids Foundation yesterday.
The foundation surveyed 296 Hong Kong companies and found 33 per cent willing to publicly identify HIV carriers on their staff.
Six per cent said all employees would be told the identity of an infected worker, regardless of his wishes. Some 12 per cent said they would tell supervisors of an infected staff member, and 15 per cent would inform senior staff.
The survey, conducted in May, aimed to examine the attitudes and AIDS policies of corporations employing more than 100 workers.
Almost 30 per cent said the HIV-positive employee would be sacked in order to pacify colleagues.
More than 90 per cent of companies said their staff would panic on knowing a colleague was an HIV carrier, and 45 per cent said some staff would resign.
