'Law 40 hours': when it starts, what is 4x3 and more details of the reform to the working day in Chile

An employee of a winery, in Santiago de Chile, on March 29. MARTIN BERNETTI (AFP)

The Chilean Chamber of Deputies approved the project to reduce the working hours of workers regulated by the Labor Code.

Camila Vallejo, current Minister of the General Secretariat of Government, and Deputy Karol Cariola introduced the initiative in 2017. After six years of discussion, the project is about to become a reality, only waiting for the signature of President Gabriel Boric and for publication in the Official Gazette.

This change will benefit some 4.7 million workers and has in its pages regulations that protect the worker, such as the prohibition for employers to reduce wages once the 40-hour day is imposed.

According to the Undersecretary of Labor in statements to the Chilean newspaper Cooperativa, "no one will work more in a week than they do today and therefore they will be able to work 45 hours in one week and rest in a workday the other." 35 hours”.

When will the new 40-hour law apply?

It is expected to be promulgated on May 1 on the occasion of International Workers' Day.

What will the transition be like?

Companies will be able to do so gradually over a maximum period of up to five years, so it will be fully applied by 2029. Workers will go from a 45-hour day to 44 hours the first year after the law was published, 42 in the third year and 40 to the fifth;

however, patterns can be anticipated.

To date, there are more than 500 Chilean companies that have obtained certification for reducing working hours.

4x3

Employers may implement four-day work days of 10 hours to rest three days or average the shift.

40 average hours

The worker may agree with the employer that the 40-hour day is completed in an average of four weeks with a maximum of 45 hours per week.

It will not be allowed to exceed 40 hours for more than two weeks.

Mothers and fathers caregivers

As of 2024, those who care for children under 12 years of age will be able to have a differentiated entrance and exit for up to two hours to delay or anticipate their working hours, which will allow them to match their schedule with that of minors.

If both parents work, the mother will be able to decide who will be entitled to this right.

extra rest

Overtime may be compensated for up to five additional holidays.

Workers not included in the project

It will be applied to workers under article 22 with the exception of those who have senior management tasks and those who are not subject to superior supervision.

Civil servants are also excluded, but negotiations have begun with the Government to include them.

special regimes

Private house workers

Those who work outside will have a reduction to 40 hours per week and allow up to 12 overtime hours;

Those who work indoors will maintain the current system, will rest at least 12 hours a day and will be compensated for two additional days of rest per month.

The days may be accumulated up to a period of three months.

miners

The exceptional days of continuous processes, such as mining, will be compensated with additional annual rest days.

ground transportation workers

It will depend on whether they are drivers or crew and the type of vehicle they drive.

The drivers or assistants of interurban collective locomotion and interurban services must take the average of 40 weekly hours each month.

Railroad crews and drivers or assistants of collective rural passenger transport services must also average 40 hours in the monthly calculation.

As for the drivers of interurban land cargo vehicles, they can opt for the monthly allowance of 180 hours (if this regime is chosen, the employer must compensate the worker with six additional days of rest) or average 40 weekly hours per month.

Permanent farm workers

The special working day must be lowered so that it matches the 40 weekly hours.

sea ​​workers

You must adapt your working day to 40 hours per week.

If you work more, overtime will be paid.

air service workers

The working day may not exceed 40 hours on average per week.

If you work for a month on land, you must take the average to make the 40 hours effective.

Hotel, restaurant and club staff

Article 27 allowed workers in these sectors to work up to 12 hours a day in five days.

With the new law this will be eliminated.

For the hotel industry, the 60-hour weekly days are also repealed.