Does your company have workers exempt from working hour limits? Have you already implemented the reduction from 44 to 42 hours? If the answer to either question is "yes, but I'm not sure it was done correctly," what follows matters to you.
On April 17, 2026, the Dirección del Trabajo (DT) published two rulings that change the analysis on both fronts. Ruling No. 252/20 reconsiders the criteria for determining which workers fall outside working hour limits. Ruling No. 253/21 sets out specific rules for implementing the workweek reduction when there is no agreement between the parties. The second phase of the reduction — from 44 to 42 weekly hours under Law No. 21,561 — took effect on April 26, 2026.
What changed
The DT reconsidered prior doctrine on two fronts. They operate on different levels, though their effects overlap in workforce management.
Exemption from working hours (Ruling No. 252/20)
Ruling No. 252/20 replaces, in relevant part, the criteria from ORD. No. 84/04 (2024), which linked subjection to working hours with the existence of attendance controls, security measures, or productivity tracking. The DT corrects that position: such controls are inherent to the subordination and dependence relationship — a requirement of every employment contract — but do not by themselves determine whether a worker is subject to working hour limits.
The decisive factor is immediate superior oversight: direct, effective, and functional control over the manner and timing in which the worker performs services. If a superior directly controls how and when tasks are carried out, working hour limits apply. If control operates only over results, the exemption may be valid.
The ruling is explicit about what is not sufficient: the existence of attendance records, technological tools, reporting systems, or traceability does not by itself constitute such oversight. Nor does periodic reporting of results. Law No. 21,561 did not change this standard: it eliminated geographic-based exemption grounds but did not equate the technological availability of supervision with its actual exercise.
Workweek reduction without agreement (Ruling No. 253/21)
Ruling No. 253/21 reconsiders, in relevant part, the criteria from No. 235/08 (April 18, 2024) and confirms that the preferred path is an agreement between the parties — individual or with the union, always in writing. In the absence of agreement, the 2-hour weekly reduction must be applied at the end of the daily shift, advancing the departure time, with this distribution:
- 5-day workweek: 1 hour is reduced at the end of 2 different days.
- 6-day workweek: 50 minutes are reduced at the end of 2 different days and 20 minutes on a third day.
- If the worker already has a workweek below 44 hours, the maximum daily reduction unit is 1 hour (5 days) or 50 minutes (6 days).
A point the ruling expressly clarifies: if an agreement was reached only for the first reduction phase (from 45 to 44 hours), that agreement does not automatically extend to this second phase. A new agreement is needed, or the default rules apply. Each phase is independent.
What this could mean for your company
On the exemption from working hours. If your company classifies certain workers as exempt under Article 22, paragraph 2, based on their job title, use of digital reporting tools, or attendance records, those grounds are now insufficient. The DT requires proof that there is no direct, functional control over how and when the worker performs services.
Workers with schedule flexibility who report results and organize their own time may qualify. But workers who — even when working remotely or under minimal visible supervision — receive instructions about deadlines, response times, or availability during specific windows are in a gray area. Labor Inspectors will resolve these cases based on the facts presented.
There is another angle. Remote or hybrid work arrangements, by themselves, do not generate an exemption from working hours. The DT makes this clear. If your company has telework agreements where the worker reports to a supervisor who sets daily execution deadlines, that worker likely remains subject to the limit. The elimination of geographic grounds by Law No. 21,561 may have left without legal support exemptions that previously relied on that basis. If you haven't reviewed your working hour exemption contracts in light of the 2024 amendments, that is the urgent point.
On the workweek reduction. The reduction from 44 to 42 hours took effect on April 26, 2026. It is not optional. If there is no agreement with workers, the default rule applies directly. The employer cannot distribute those 2 hours in whatever way is most convenient: the rule fixes the distribution on different days and at the end of the shift.
But simply lacking an agreement is not enough to apply the reduction unilaterally. The ruling requires that actual dialogue efforts took place. Without evidence of that process, a DT inspection may challenge the unilateral application. The law requires the attempt at agreement, not just its absence.
What you can do
Audit the roster of workers exempt from working hours. For each one, assess: is there a superior who controls the manner and timing of task execution? Is performance measured by process or only by result? Do the instructions received define how work is performed or only what must be achieved? If the answer to the first criterion is affirmative, the exemption is questionable. An exemption not grounded in the absence of immediate superior oversight exposes the company to inspection and challenge.
Verify whether you have a written agreement in force for this second phase. If you signed one for the previous reduction, do not assume it covers the current one. Verify that the document expressly refers to the reduction from 44 to 42 hours. If none exists, document the dialogue efforts you had with workers or the union, even if they did not conclude in an agreement. That evidence protects the unilateral application.
Update contracts and working hour regulations. If implementation was done without a written agreement, formalize the current schedule distribution. If you have workers with working hour exemptions who could be reclassified following these rulings, adjust their contracts before an inspection does it for you. Document the grounds for every exemption with detail on the nature of the role, the actual level of autonomy, and the absence of direct control.
If you need to review the working hour exemptions in your workforce or verify that the 42-hour reduction has been correctly implemented, schedule a consultation with Cubillos Lama
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice for any specific case.