This year will be a challenging year in labor matters for companies in Chile. Jorge Arredondo explains some of the legal changes that companies should take into account.
The coming months will be challenging for Chilean companies in terms of labor. This is due to the implementation of four key laws.
The first is the Economic Crimes Law, which implies important changes in the Chilean criminal system. In labor matters, companies and executives may be criminally liable for crimes that are directly related to the hiring and employment of certain workers; social security issues and the protection of the life and health of workers, whether direct or indirect; in activities of their own line of business, derived from the role of guarantor of the employer in these matters, among other aspects. In this scenario, risk prevention becomes especially relevant for companies.
On the other hand, Law No. 21,561, known as the “40-hour law“, which establishes the reduction of the working week, has just entered into force. In terms of substance, employers have already had to reduce, on a mandatory basis, the working hours of their employees who work an ordinary working day of 45 hours, being subject to a maximum of 44 hours. There are still important questions regarding its application, such as the way in which the reduction of the working day should be carried out, when in 2026 the reduction will be to 42 hours per week, and there is no agreement between the employer and the employee regarding the way in which it should be carried out.
Also, the new regulation reduced the assumptions of workers who could be exempt from working hours, these being managers and administrators, and those who work “without immediate superior supervision”, due to the nature of their work. In this aspect, there is no clarity on the scope of this hypothesis, since the TD confuses, in our opinion, the inherent and inherent control of a relationship under a subordinate and dependent relationship, with the self-determined activity that a worker can carry out that qualifies him/her to be “without immediate superior supervision”.
Another regulation that will enter into force this year is the so-called “Karin Law“, which strengthens the regulation on prevention, investigation and punishment of labor and sexual harassment and violence in the workplace. This regulation establishes that labor relations must be based on a treatment free of violence, compatible with the dignity of the person and with a gender perspective. In addition, it establishes that the employer is obliged to promote and eradicate behaviors contrary to these approaches, assuming a promotional role, as well as investigation and sanction if necessary.
This new law significantly transforms the internal investigations of companies, maintaining our position that these can be entrusted to an expert from outside the organization, given the suitability required, as well as the importance of the legal conclusions reached. The review, updating and modification of internal regulations and the creation of policies for prevention and action in the face of conduct that falls within the scope of the forthcoming law will be key.
Finally, in January of this year, the law that aims to reconcile the personal, family and work life of workers came into force. This regulation emphasizes the new role that employers must adopt, as it transforms them into active agents in promoting work-life balance. In view of this, it is essential for companies to inform themselves about their new role and how to respond to the demands of the new regulations.
Also, in this context, we cannot lose sight of the recent announcement by the Executive Branch to advance in the presentation of a bill to modify the scope of collective labor relations, promoting multilevel bargaining.
As can be seen, this year is a challenging one in labor matters for companies. In view of this, it is essential to be duly informed and to analyze the particular scope that these changes may produce in each company.
Column written by Jorge Arredondo, partner and leader of Albagli Zaliasnik’s Labor Group (az).
