Urenda Rencoret Orrego & Dörr

Forums For Adjudicating Employment Disputes

Labour Courts are the forum for adjudication of all labour disputes. Arbitration of employment disputes is reserved for exceptional cases in Chile.


The Main Sources Of Employment Law

The Labour Code is the main source of employment law in Chile. Notwithstanding the foregoing, there are additional statutes and regulations which complement the labour legislation, e.g. Law No 16,744 regarding labour accidents and work-related illnesses; Decree Law No. 3,500 and its amendments, regarding the private pension system; Law No. 19,728 regarding unemployment insurance.

Individual and collective contracts are also a source of employment obligations.


National Law And Employees Working For Foreign Companies

All employees working in Chile are protected and subject to Chilean Labour Law, regardless of their nationality. In companies with more than 25 employees, at least 85 percent of the employees hired by one employer must be Chilean, with this percentage calculated as a fraction of their total labour force in Chile. Nevertheless, this restriction does not apply, among others, to foreign technical experts.


National Law And Employees Of National Companies Working In Another Jurisdiction

As a general rule, Chilean law is not enforceable in other jurisdictions. Normally, when an employee is expatriated, their Chilean employment contract is terminated or suspended by mutual consent of the parties. However, in case a Chilean employee performs temporary work abroad, in accordance with his or her employment contract, the labour relationship will remain in force in Chile.


Data privacy

Labour Code sets forth that employers shall maintain confidentiality of all private information and data regarding employees to which they have access as a result of the employment relationship. The above includes sensitive data, with the only potential exception relating to disabilities, which employers can process to evidence compliance with disability workforce quota mandates and other regulations regarding employees with disabilities.

Also, the Labor Code establishes that the rights granted by law to the employer are limited by the respect of the employees´ constitutional guarantees, especially when the private life and honour of workers could be affected.

Legal Requirements As To The Form Of Agreement

All employment contracts have to be evidenced in writing within a period of 15 days as from the first day of the employee’s starting date. In case of employment contracts for less than 30 days or whose duration is determined by the temporary work for which the employee was hired, the period is 5 days.

If no written contract is signed within the referred to 15-day term, or 5 day-term, as the case may be, the employer could be normally subject to fines of up to approximately USD $1,100 per employee. In case there is no written contract, then the law presumes that the stipulations of the contract are those alleged by the employee. The employment contract has to include certain mandatory provisions and any amendment must be set forth in writing and signed by the parties on the back of the employment contract or in a separate appendix.

Mandatory Requirements
  • Trial Period
  • In general, trial or probationary periods do not exist under Chilean Labour Law. The only exception is a two-week period term provided for domestic employees.

  • Hours Of Work
  • The maximum permissible working week is 45 hours, distributed over no fewer than five and no more than six days. Ordinary work per day cannot exceed 10 hours. There is no limitation on whether the distribution of the 45-hour working schedule is during day or night shifts. There are some cases where due to the nature of work, such working schedule limitations do not apply.

  • Special Rules For Part-time Work
  • The Labour Code has a special paragraph on part time work, applicable to those employment contracts with a working time not to exceed 30 hours per week. Overtime work is allowed in such contracts. Employees under part time contracts have the same rights than employees under full time contracts. However, the legal sharing profit may be reduced proportionally.

  • Earnings
  • Employees are entitled to a minimum wage, which is fixed by law every year. Current minimum monthly wage is CLP 326,500 (approximately USD $465). Overtime work is calculated at a rate of 1.5 times the ordinary hourly salary.

    In addition, companies that make net profits during the fiscal year are required to establish a profit sharing plan, which may be either: (i) by distributing 30% of their net profits pro rata to employees; or (ii) by paying to each employee an amount equivalent to 25% of the total annual remuneration of such employee, capped at 4.75 monthly minimum salaries per year, unless the parties have agreed to a higher amount.

  • Holidays/Rest Periods
  • Employees with one or more years of service in the company are entitled to 15 working days of paid vacation or holiday once a year. After the first 10 years of work, continuously or not, for one or more employers, annual vacation is increased by one day after every 3 additional years of employment with the current employer.

    Employees who work in the “Magallanes and Antarctic Region”, in the “Aysén Region” and in the “Palena Province”, are entitled to 20 working days of paid vacation or holiday once a year.

    As a general rule, employees cannot work on public holidays or Sundays, with certain exceptions, such as: (i) employees who work in retail and directly attend or serve the public; (ii) those who work in ports or on ships; (iii) those who provide services that require continuity due to the nature of the services, technical reasons, or to avoid damage to the public interest or to industry; and (iv) those who repair damages caused by force majeure if work cannot be delayed.

  • Minimum/Maximum Age
  • Minors under 18 can be engaged in labour activities only with parental authorisation. Chilean Labour Code does not provide maximum age limits.

  • Illness/Disability
  • According to Chilean social security regulations, all employees must pay approximately 7 per cent of their salary towards health insurance. These contributions are withheld by the employer from the employee’s monthly salary and then paid directly to the health-care institutions (“FONASA” or “ISAPRE”).

    Under Chilean Labour Law, employees are entitled to sick leave based on physician’s orders. During this absence, the employee will usually receive an amount replacing his or her salary, paid by the respective health insurance provider. Absences due to work related accidents or professional diseases will be paid by a special entity in charge of such accidents (“Mutuales de Seguridad”).

    According to this system, health care institutions will pay incapacity allowance starting on the fourth day of absence if the medical leave is for less than 10 days. If the medical leave is for more than 10 days, the health care institution will pay incapacity allowance starting on the first day. All amounts are subject to a monthly legal cap of UF 81.6 (approximately USD $3,422).

  • Location Of Work/Mobility
  • The location of the employee’s work must be mentioned in the respective employment contract. As a general rule, the employer can change the place where duties must be performed, under the condition that the new place is located in the same city.

  • Pension Plans
  • According to Chilean social security regulations, all employees must pay approximately 13 per cent of their salary to a pension fund, which accumulates those savings in an individual account. These mandatory contributions are withheld by the employer from the employee’s monthly salary.

  • Parental Rights (Pregnancy/ Maternity/ Paternity/ Adoption)
  • Pregnant women cannot be fired during pregnancy or in the 12 months following maternity leave, unless the dismissal is previously approved by a court decision.

    Female employees are entitled to paid-maternity-leave starting 6 weeks before childbirth and continuing 12 weeks thereafter. After the first 12 mandatory weeks, there is an additional and optional period of another 12 weeks, in order to make a 24 full-time leave after childbirth.

    Said additional and optional leave after childbirth can be extended up to 18 weeks if the mother decides to take such additional leave on a part-time basis. During this absence, health care institutions are responsible of paying the mother’s remunerations with a legal cap of 81.6 UF (approximately USD $3,422).

    During the first month after childbirth, the father is entitled to 5 working days of paid leave.

    In case the mother dies while giving birth or during the maternity leave, this period or the remainder will correspond to the respective father or to whom the child custody has been granted.

    In cases of adoption, either women or men enjoy similar benefits as those available for biological parents.

    Chilean Labour Law also contemplates other nursery and child feeding permits.

  • Compulsory Terms
  • The compulsory terms which must be included in employment contracts are:

    The place and date of the contract; identity of the parties; nature of work and place where it will be performed; details of salary and other benefits; duration and distribution of the working week; and term of the contract.

  • Non-Compulsory Terms
  • The parties are free to agree other non-compulsory provisions providing they do not conflict with statutory labour rules.


Types Of Agreement

Chilean Labour Law includes, among others: (i) fixed-term contracts; (ii) specific task contracts; (iii) indefinite-term contracts; (iv) part-time contracts; and (v) apprenticeships contracts.

Fixed-term contracts cannot be executed for more than 1 year. In case of managers or individuals who have obtained a professional or technical degree granted by a state-recognized institution, the maximum term is 2 years. Please note that these contracts may only be renewed once. If the employee continues rendering services after the expiration of the term or its renewal, the employment contract becomes one of indefinite-term. The same effect occurs upon the second renewal of a fixed-term employment contract and with the employee who renders discontinuous services by virtue of more than two fixed-term contracts for a total period of 12 months over a 15-month term counted from the first hiring.

Fixed-term contracts do not require severance in the event of termination, unless they are terminated unilaterally by the employer before the termination date or completion of the task provided in the contract, in which case the employer must pay the employee all remunerations up to that date.


Secrecy/Confidentiality

From the perspective of the employer, the Labour Code provides a general application rule on the secrecy and/or confidentiality of all information and private data of the employee to which it has access upon the labour relationship.

Regarding the employee, there are no express rules relating to secrecy and/or confidentiality, therefore it is advisable to include an express provision in employment contracts.


Ownership of Inventions/Other Intellectual Property (IP) Rights

In general terms, inventions, objects or other creations subject to intellectual property rights produced or created by the employee rendering the services agreed on his or her employment contract, belongs to the employer. However, parties may agree otherwise in the corresponding employment contract.


Pre-Employment Considerations

Prior to hiring an employee who will work in hazardous or unhealthy industries or works, employers shall request them a medical certificate evidencing their ability to perform the works. Likewise, if the work requires physical strength, employers can request the employees to evidence that they can perform such works by means of medical exams.

Employers cannot condition the hiring of employees to the absence of economic, financial, banking or commercial obligations nor require any statement or certificate for such purpose, except if the employee will be vested with broad representation powers or will be in charge of collecting, managing or safekeeping funds or securities of any nature. Likewise, employers cannot condition the hiring of an employee to the fact of not suffering or not having suffered from cancer or to the existence or absence of pregnancy, nor require any certificate or examination for such purposes.


Hiring Non-Nationals

In companies with more than 25 employees, at least 85 percent of the employees hired by one employer must be Chilean, with this percentage calculated as a fraction of their total labour force in Chile. This restriction, however, does not apply to foreign technical experts who are therefore excluded from the percentage mentioned above. For these purposes, those foreign nationals whose husband, wife or children are of Chilean nationality (or who are a widow or widower of a Chilean citizen) are considered Chileans. Similarly, foreign nationals with residence in Chile for more than 5 years are also considered Chileans for the purposes of this rule.

 

Hiring Specified Categories Of Individuals

Pursuant to Law Nr. 21,015, of June 15, 2017, companies with more than 100 employees shall hire at least 1% of persons with disability or persons who are entitled to a disability pension, in relation to their total employees.

There are no other specific categories of individuals in the Chilean Labour Code.


Outsourcing And/Or Sub-Contracting/Temporary Agency Work

There are no restrictions on employers outsourcing and/or subcontracting. The owner of the place where the work is carried out will remain joint and severally responsible for labour obligations of the sub-contractors.

Personnel supply activities are highly restricted. Services therein are limited to a short period of time, normally not exceeding 90 or 180 days. Supply of personnel companies require special governmental approvals and have to issue certain guaranties regarding their compliance with labour obligations.

Changes To The Contract

In general terms, any change in the employee’s work conditions have to be mutually agreed by the parties. However, employers can unilaterally vary the nature of the services or the place of work provided that: (i) the new service is similar in nature; (ii) the place of work must be within the same city; and (iii) the employee does not suffer any detriment due to these changes.

Also, employers are entitled to vary the work-day distribution up to 60 minutes, either by anticipating or deferring the time that employees must start the workday.


Change In Ownership Of The Business

Under Chilean Labour Law, any change in the ownership of the business, whether through sales, mergers, spin-offs or any other form, is irrelevant to employees, whose rights under individual or collective contracts with the employer are binding for the new owners of the business. Accordingly, the continuation of the rights and obligations of the employees, in the event that all or part of the business is transferred, occurs by operation of law.

For this reason, according to the Labour Authority, it is not necessary to execute a new employment contract. It is advisable to update existing contracts with the new information of the parties.


Social Security Contributions

According to Chilean social security regulations, all employees must pay 7 percent of their salary towards health insurance. These contributions are withheld by the employer from the employee’s monthly salary and then paid directly to public or private health-care institutions (“FONASA” or “ISAPRE”).

In addition, and as explained above, all employees must pay approximately 13 per cent of their salary into a pension fund, which accumulates those savings in an individual account. These mandatory contributions are deducted from the employee’s monthly salary by the employer.

Employers must provide insurance for labour accidents and professional diseases. These contributions are as follows: a basic contribution of 0.95 percent of the employee’s salary; plus, an additional contribution (which varies based on the company’s activity and associated risk, limited to 3.4 percent of the employee’s salary).

Unemployment insurance is also mandatory, which both the employer and the employee must contribute, during the first 11 years of the contract, as follows: (i) employees must contribute with 0.6 percent of his or her salary, and (ii) the employer must pay 2.4 percent of the employee’s salary. After the 11 years of the contract, the employer must contribute with 0.8 percent of the employee’s salary. In the case of the fixed-term contracts, the employer must contribute with 3.0 percent of the employee’s salary.

Please bear in mind that all this percentages are applied to the respective salary, which is subject to a legal cap of UF 81.6 for health and social security purposes, and a legal cap of UF 122.6 for unemployment insurance.


Accidents At Work

A special law regulates work related accidents and who is responsible. There is legal insurance to cover employment accidents and labour illness risk.


Discipline And Grievance

It is mandatory for a company who has 10 or more employees to have a handbook (“Internal Rules of Order, Hygiene and Safety”). This handbook must be written in Spanish and must contain discipline and grievance procedures and other regulations regarding certain matters such as: leave of absence, conflict resolution, substance abuse and sexual harassment. This document must also contain a special chapter with rules and instructions on accident prevention and health and safety guidelines to be observed by all employees.


Harassment/Discrimination/Equal pay

Sexual harassment and labour harassment practices are prohibited in the workplace. Such practices are considered as: (i) base for termination of employment contract, without any severance; and (ii) permits an affected employee to unilaterally terminate his or her employment contract in case of infringement, with the right to claim all severances with up to 80% of increase. A procedure to investigate sexual harassment is included in the Chilean Labour Code.

The Chilean Labour Code provides regulations for equal pay between male and female employees who performed the same duties. Differences in the payment to male and female employees performing the same duties may be considered discriminatory if such difference is not based on abilities, qualifications, responsibilities or productivity of the employee.

Discrimination in employment is prohibited by Law. Several examples of discrimination are included in the Labour Code. Employees cannot be discriminated against on account of race, colour, sex, maternity, nursing, breastfeeding, age, civil status, union affiliation, religion, political opinion, nationality, ascendency, socioeconomic situation, language, beliefs, guild association, sexual orientation, gender identity, filiation, physical appearance, disease or disability and social origin, provided that the employer must guarantee equal opportunities and treat for all employments and occupations.

Also, the law contemplates several remedies against discrimination giving rise to special damage indemnities.

All distinctions which are not based on employee’s capacity and suitability for a particular job are considered as discrimination.


Compulsory Training Obligations

Although the Labour Code establishes, as a general principle, that the employer is responsible of the training-related activities of its employees (i.e. promote, provide, encourage and develop aptitudes, abilities and degrees of knowledge of its employees), there are no specific compulsory training obligations imposed on employees or employers. However, certain jobs require special training in order to avoid labour accidents or to spread professional diseases. Such training obligations will be required in order to protect the employees’ health. In addition, the Chilean Labour Law establishes the obligation for the employers to inform all of its workers regarding the risks that their activities bear, its preventive measures and the correct working methods.

Some sectors have their own regulations which require special training, abilities or knowledge in order for employees to perform their duties.


Offsetting Earnings

Upon the employee’s approval, an employer is permitted to offset an employee’s earnings against his or her debt, subject to certain limitations. As a general rule, non-mandatory deductions cannot exceed 15 per cent of employee’s monthly wages.


Payments For Maternity And Disability Leave

Social security institutions should pay an equivalent salary to the employee during maternity and disability leave for the periods and subject to the legal caps mentioned above.


Compulsory Insurance

Health, life, labour accidents and professional diseases and unemployment insurances are required by law. With the exception of labour accidents and professional diseases, all insurances must be financed by employees.


Absence For Military Or Public Service Duties

When an employee is absent from work for military or public service duties, the employer must keep the employee’s position open.


Works Councils or Trade Unions

There are no work councils in Chile. Labour unions exist on a voluntary basis. In Chile there are strong regulations on trade unions. Trade union authority has been increased by the latest amendments to the Labour Code.

Company unions (which represent employees from a single company or a single establishment) have the authority to call for collective negotiations, as well as inter-company Unions (which represent two or more companies that share a common holding company) and bargaining groups (groups of employees who are not affiliated to a Union). For companies of less than 50 employees, the collective negotiation requested by an inter-company union is not mandatory. There is also a special procedure of collective bargaining for potential, seasonal and temporary work employees.


Employees’ Right To Strike

All steps of collective bargaining have to be exhausted in order for a strike to be legal. There are certain employees who cannot go on strike, in which case the dispute must be submitted to arbitration (e.g. employees from electricity, water and other primary services and those working on activities where stoppage can create a severe damage to health and supply of goods, the country’s economy or to the national security).


Employees On Strike

As a general rule, employees cannot be dismissed during strike and employers are not allowed to replace such employees. The replacement of employees during a strike action constitutes a disloyal practice of the collective bargaining, which is sanctioned with fines of up to USD $7,350.


Employers’ Responsibility For Actions Of Their Employees

As a general rule, employers will be responsible for their employee’s actions performed during their contractual duties, unless an employee acts improperly and beyond the control of the employer or engages in illegal activities.

Procedures For Terminating the Agreement

The Chilean Labour Code provides several regulations regarding termination of employment contracts. Terminations must be based on any of the grounds provided in the Labour Code.

However, there are some specific cases where termination of employment contracts occurs automatically, for example (e.g. in case of employee’s death, conclusion of work and expiration of the fixed-term contract).

Upon the termination of an employment contract, the employer must give notice to the employee, explaining the reasons for the dismissal within the 3 working days following the termination. A copy of that notice (i.e. letter provided to the employee) has to be sent to Labour Authority for their records within the same term.

Furthermore, the Labour Code, establishes a 10 working-day term (counted from the date the former employee ceases to render services for the company), within which the employer shall make available to the employee a termination and release agreement along with any outstanding amounts owed due to the termination of the employment contract. For these purposes, the employer shall pay the employee any amounts owed arising from the termination of the employment relationship and must execute the termination and release agreement before a Notary Public.


Instant Dismissal

As a general rule, employers can instantly dismiss employees in certain cases; (i) on the grounds of “needs of the company”, by giving a 30-day prior notice or paying a severance in lieu of notice; (ii) in case of gross misbehaviour or dishonesty; or (iii) in case employees breaches the employment contract, among others.

Nevertheless, the employer will need to obtain the Labour Court’s approval before being able to dismiss certain employees. This will be the case of employees who are on a collective bargaining process, pregnant women, employees on maternity leave, maternity period of protection, members of labour unions and other few cases provided in the Labour Code.


Employee's Resignation

The employment contract can be terminated by the employee’s written resignation. This resignation must be signed before a Notary Public or Labour Bureau Inspector, among other authorities.


Termination On Notice

To terminate the employment contract by the grounds of the “needs of the company”, the employer must give the employee a 30-day notice before dismissal, unless the employer agrees to pay the employee compensation equivalent to 30 days of work in lieu of notice in addition to any other severance payment that is due to the employee. The remuneration considered for these purposes is capped by the Law at UF 90 (approximately USD $3,700).

If termination is due to gross misbehaviour or breach of contract by the employee, no such previous notice is requested.


Termination By Reason Of The Employee's Age

In Chile, dismissal by reason of an employee’s age is not permitted. In case of any claim, Labour Courts could deem such dismissal as illegal and discriminatory.


Automatic Termination In Cases Of Force Majeure

In cases of force majeure, provided that the effects of the latter are permanent, termination of the employment contract is justified without severance payment.


Collective Dismissals

Our Labour legislation does not regulate this matter.


Termination By Parties’ Agreement

The parties can terminate the employment relationship by mutual agreement. This agreement must be signed before a Notary Public or other persons specifically authorized, such as a labour union’s director, labour inspectors, etc.


Directors Or Other Senior Officers

Minor differences aside, the Chilean Labour Code provides the same treatment than any other employee to directors and other senior officers who work in a relation of subordination and dependence with the employer.

A specific ground for termination (i.e. desahucio) is established for senior officers, provided that other specific legal requirements are met.


Special Rules For Categories Of Employee

There are no special categories of employees in the Chilean Labour Law.


Whistleblower Laws

Labour Code regulates whistleblower only for sexual harassment claims, providing that the Internal Rules of Order, Hygiene and Safety should include the procedure that will apply to such claims. For other claims, in general, anybody can address them before the Labor Directorate.


Specific Rules For Companies in Financial Difficulties

In case of bankruptcy, severance payments to employees have certain priority over other company debts. The Chilean law establishes that employment contracts will end in case of bankruptcy. For all legal purposes, the company’s bankruptcy declaration will serve as the termination date of employment contracts.

The bankruptcy administrator will be appointed by the relevant institution. Said administrator shall (i) communicate the termination of the employment contracts by providing the relevant notice within a 6-day term following the bankruptcy’s declaration; (ii) pay the relevant severance payments to employees (i.e. severance in lieu of notice and years of service, if applicable) and (iii) make available to the employees their release agreements.

No judicial authorization will be required in order to dismiss employees with immunity from dismissal in these cases. In case of pregnant female employees the bankruptcy administrator shall also pay an additional severance equivalent to the term of the pending maternity leave.


Special Rules For Garden Leave

This figure is not contemplated under Chilean labour law except for cases of sexual harassment. In such cases, once the complaint has been received by the employer, he must adopt the necessary protective measures for those involved, such as the separation of physical spaces or the redistribution of working hours, considering the seriousness of the alleged facts and the possibilities arising from the working conditions.


Restricting Future Activities

Parties may agree to restrict employee’s future activities. With regard to these restrictions, there are two important moments or stages to consider. The first is while the employee is employed and the second is after the employment relationship is terminated. If an employee breaches a non-compete covenant included in the contract while still in employment, the employer can terminate the contract without having to pay severance. After an employment relationship ends, the enforcement of a non-compete covenant may be difficult given the absence of specific statutory rules and, more importantly, because the Chilean Constitution guarantees all individuals the freedom to work, to be hired freely and to select their work. Labour Courts tend to protect these rights.

Moreover, pursuant to the Labour Code, the freedom to work is recognised as a “fundamental labour right” of employees. Therefore, it is possible that these types of restrictions may be declared invalid in case of claims filed before Labour Courts.


Severance Payments

If the employment is terminated by the employer on the grounds of the needs of the company (such as those required for the rationalisation or modernisation of systems, a fall in productivity or changes in market conditions or the national economy that make the loss of one or more employees necessary) or desahucio, unless a higher severance payment is agreed by the parties, the employee will be entitled to a legal severance for an amount equal to 1 month salary for each year worked or a fraction thereof if there is a remainder of more than 6 months, with the following limitations: the severance is capped at 11 months (i.e., 11 years of service); and the remuneration considered for these purposes is capped at UF 90 (approximately USD $3,700) per month. In addition, the employer must give the employee a 30-day notice before dismissal, unless the employer agrees to pay the employee compensation equivalent to 30 days of work in lieu of notice with the same cap.

If an employee is dismissed without any cause or if he or she considers that the dismissal is not sufficiently justified, the employee is entitled to file a labour lawsuit before Labour Courts and could claim compensations in lieu of notice and years of service (as stated above) and, additionally, severance payment for wrongful termination which range from 30 percent to 100 percent of the legal severance established for the years of service. This percentage may vary depending on the grounds invoked by the employer upon the termination of the contract.

In the case of specific task contracts, if the employment is terminated by the employer on the grounds of the completion of the work or service, the employer may terminate it in a justified manner as long as it pays to the worker, at the time of its termination, a compensation equivalent to: (i) For the contracts executed between January/01/2019 and June/30/2020: 1 day of remuneration for each month worked or a fraction thereof if there is a remainder of more than 15 days; (ii) For the contracts executed between July/01/2020 and June/30/2021: 1,5 days of remuneration for each month worked or a fraction thereof if there is a remainder of more than 15 days: (iii) For the contracts executed between July/01/2021 and December/31/2021: 2 days of remuneration for each month worked or a fraction thereof if there is a remainder of more than 15 days; and, (iv) For the contracts executed from January 01/01/2022 onwards: 2.5 days of remuneration for each month worked or a fraction thereof if there is a remainder of more than 15 days. The remuneration considered for these purposes is capped at UF 90 (approximately USD $3,700).


Special Tax Provisions And Severance Payments

The employee’s monthly salary will be subject to the Second Category Tax, which is progressive and is based on the employee’s gross income. The tax rate ranges from 0 to 40 percent depending on the taxable basis. Normally severance payments will be tax free, provided they do not exceed the rule of one-month salary per year of work.


Allowances Payable To Employees After Termination

Upon termination of the employment contract, the employer must pay any pending labour benefit to the employee (e.g. holidays, overtime, remunerations, social security contributions and severance payments, if any). Therefore, there are no other allowances payable to employees after the termination of the employment contract.


Time Limits For Claims Following Termination

Employees have 90 working days, from the date of dismissal, to make a claim for improper dismissal. Employees have six months to claim other labour benefits and five years to claim social security contributions and indemnities where the employee has suffered an accident or professional illness at work.

Specific Matters Which Are Important Or Unique To This Jurisdiction

Social Security System. The private social security system is a special feature of our Labour Law. The pension plan depends on the amount of money the respective employee has saved in his individual account, plus, the profit obtained from the investing of such money. Social security is mostly supported by employees with an obligation for employers to withhold money from employees’ salaries, having to deposit that amounts in private and strongly regulated social security organisations called “pension funds administrators”, who ultimately manage and invest the monies obtained. Also, there is a minimum solidarity government contribution for retired people who do not meet certain minimum pensions with their own funds, for either never having made any contribution to the fund, or making low contributions.

Nullity of dismissal. If an employer dismisses an employee without paying his or her social security and health care monies, the dismissal is considered null and void and the employer shall pay the whole salary of the employee within the period comprised from the dismissal to the notice made by the employer to the employee of the payment of such monies.

Telework and working from distance. Chile recently passed a bill on telework and remote working that provides regulations the employees who render their services, wholly or partially, from his or her domicile or other places different from the establishment, facilities or offices of the employer, or for the employees who render their services through the utilization of technological means.

The new Law Nr. 21.220 introduces the “right to disconnect” associated with teleworking or working from distance as a guarantee that the workers subject to this form of schedule or control will not be obliged to respond to their communications, orders or other requirements for 12 continued hours in a 24-hour period, and the obligation for the employer to respect the employee’s resting days.

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Contact a Contributing Author:
Alberto Rencoret
Urenda Rencoret Orrego & Dörr
Chile


Verónica Roa
Urenda Rencoret Orrego & Dörr
Chile


Disclaimer:

© 2021, Urenda Rencoret Orrego & Dörr. All rights reserved by Urenda Rencoret Orrego & Dörr as author and the owner of the copyright in this chapter. Urenda Rencoret Orrego & Dörr has granted to Multilaw non-exclusive worldwide license to use and include this chapter in this guide and to sublicense Lexis Nexis, a division of RELX Inc. and its affiliates certain rights to use and distribute this Guide.

The information in the How to Hire and Fire Guide provides a general overview at the time of publication and is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all legal developments nor should it be taken as opinion or legal advice on the matters covered. It is for general information purposes only and readers should take legal advice from a Multilaw member firm.

Publication Date: June 2021