This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
The global solution for human resource professionals, combines custom research, strategic white papers, country primers, webinars and OnDemand educational programs, and the expert guidance...
By Tom Azzopardi
Jan. 5—Unions and employers will be able to freely negotiate a four-day week and the option to work from home under new rules issued by Chile's labor authority Dirección del Trabajo.
Opinion No. 6804, issued Dec. 26, interprets rules incorporated into Chile's labor code following the signing of the government's strongly pro-union labor legislation, Law 20,940, by President Michelle Bachelet last August. The document is the fifth of nine the DT plans to publish interpreting various aspects of the law on labor relations.
The new law allows workers and employers to freely agree to a four-day workweek rather than the five-day week stipulated under the previous code. Employers and workers can also negotiate arrangements to allow workers with dependent family members to carry out their responsibilities from a place other than the workplace, such as the home or another designated location.
Previously, such arrangements required the approval of the labor authorities.
The alternative arrangements are allowed only in companies 30 percent of whose workforces are unionized and must be agreed upon through formal pacts negotiated outside regular collective bargaining between the employer and the unions representing its employees. The pacts can have a maximum duration of three years and must be approved by an absolute majority of union members in mass meetings held before a legal witness. Once agreed to, pacts apply to all union members and must be reported to the DT via an online form. Non-unionized employees must apply in writing to be covered by the pact.
Workweeks cannot exceed 45 hours, workdays 12. The DT suggests the workweek be divided into four days of 11 hours and 15 minutes or three days of 12 hours and one of nine hours.
The option to work offsite is open to men and women who must care for children or for elderly or disabled relatives and may be open to other employees as agreed between the employer and the union.
The employee must apply in writing to work offsite, and the employer has 30 days to accept or reject the application. The alternative workplace, work hours and duration of the agreement must be stipulated in a signed appendix to the employment contract. The employee may unilaterally end the agreement and return to the original workplace by giving the employer 30 days' notice.
The DT has authority to inspect these pacts and to annul them if it finds health and safety regulations are being breached, a decision either party may challenge in court.
Pacts on special working conditions can also be agreed to between labor federations and one or more employers or business associations. In these cases, it is not necessary that 30 percent of the workers involved be union members.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tom Azzopardi in Santiago at correspondents@bna.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rick Vollmar at rvollmar@bna.com
For more information on Chilean HR law and regulation, see the Chile primer.
Copyright © 2017 The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
All Bloomberg BNA treatises are available on standing order, which ensures you will always receive the most current edition of the book or supplement of the title you have ordered from Bloomberg BNA’s book division. As soon as a new supplement or edition is published (usually annually) for a title you’ve previously purchased and requested to be placed on standing order, we’ll ship it to you to review for 30 days without any obligation. During this period, you can either (a) honor the invoice and receive a 5% discount (in addition to any other discounts you may qualify for) off the then-current price of the update, plus shipping and handling or (b) return the book(s), in which case, your invoice will be cancelled upon receipt of the book(s). Call us for a prepaid UPS label for your return. It’s as simple and easy as that. Most importantly, standing orders mean you will never have to worry about the timeliness of the information you’re relying on. And, you may discontinue standing orders at any time by contacting us at 1.800.960.1220 or by sending an email to books@bna.com.
Put me on standing order at a 5% discount off list price of all future updates, in addition to any other discounts I may quality for. (Returnable within 30 days.)
Notify me when updates are available (No standing order will be created).
This Bloomberg BNA report is available on standing order, which ensures you will all receive the latest edition. This report is updated annually and we will send you the latest edition once it has been published. By signing up for standing order you will never have to worry about the timeliness of the information you need. And, you may discontinue standing orders at any time by contacting us at 1.800.372.1033, option 5, or by sending us an email to research@bna.com.
Put me on standing order
Notify me when new releases are available (no standing order will be created)