Labor

Law 21.643, known as the Karin Law and effective since August 1, 2024, requires every company with one or more workers to have a Sexual, Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Protocol aligned with ILO Convention 190. The protocol is not a one-size-fits-all document: it must be built on a company-specific psychosocial risk matrix, with concrete preventive measures tailored to your sector, headcount and geography.

We design tailored protocols that include the anti-harassment policy, reporting procedures, mechanisms for protecting and reinstating the complainant, safeguard measures during the investigation, psychosocial risk assessment, mandatory training plan and clauses to coordinate with the Internal Regulations (RIOHS) and individual employment contracts. We support roll-out with onboarding sessions for the board, HR leadership and middle management. The Chilean Labor Authority (Dirección del Trabajo) has been actively enforcing from day one and has already issued fines for missing or poorly applied protocols.

Decree 21 of the Ministry of Labor —the regulation that implements the Karin Law— sets strict deadlines and specific formalities for internal investigations triggered by harassment or violence reports. The company has 3 business days to adopt safeguard measures, 30 calendar days to complete the investigation and another 30 to implement corrective measures.

We advise at every stage: intake of the complaint, appointment of an investigator with the technical competence required by the regulation, proportionate safeguard measures, summons, interviews with complainant, respondent and witnesses, evidence collection, drafting of the final report with reasoned conclusions and notification to the parties. If the company decides to refer the case to the Labor Authority, we prepare the filing. Every step is documented so the investigation can withstand a labor inspection, a fundamental-rights protection lawsuit or a criminal complaint. Mishandling the investigation exposes the company to administrative penalties, labor damages and severe reputational harm.

Every company with 10 or more workers is required to have an Internal Regulations on Order, Hygiene and Safety (RIOHS). The Karin Law and recent reforms —weekly bonus pay, the 40-hour work week, the right to disconnect— require updating the RIOHS to cover new topics: harassment prevention protocol, technology-use policy, telework arrangements, complaint and disciplinary procedures, anti-discrimination policy and protection of employee personal data.

We draft or review your RIOHS to ensure compliance with formal requirements (filing with the Labor Inspection, internal publication, delivery to each employee) and substantive standards (proportionality of sanctions, procedural clarity, consistency with individual employment contracts and collective bargaining agreements). A poorly drafted or outdated RIOHS is the first source of challenges in labor litigation and Labor Authority audits. With each legal reform we provide an update annex so the document stays current without having to be rewritten from scratch.

Non-disciplinary terminations —mainly the "business needs" ground under Article 161 of the Labor Code— account for the bulk of labor disputes. A poorly documented termination, without real grounds or with formal defects, quickly becomes a wrongful-termination lawsuit with surcharges of 30% to 100% on top of seniority severance and, in sensitive cases, a fundamental-rights protection lawsuit with additional damages.

We advise before, during and after: analysis of the legal ground, drafting of the termination letter with the facts that justify the decision, accurate severance calculation (seniority capped at 11 years for contracts signed after 1981, payment in lieu of notice, prorated vacation, statutory bonus, weekly bonus pay and pending bonuses), preparation of the settlement agreement (finiquito), notarization or filing with the Labor Inspection, and litigation defense if the decision is challenged. For mass layoffs we structure plans that minimize exposure and coordinate social-security, tax and internal-communications aspects.

The Chilean Labor Authority (Dirección del Trabajo, DT) can audit your company based on a worker complaint, on a routine inspection program or following a workplace accident. The audit can be on-site or document-based and ends with a report listing infractions subject to fines that scale with company size, plus deadlines to remedy them.

We advise on the immediate response: review of the facts, gathering of required documentation (RIOHS, attendance records, payroll book, contracts, settlement agreements, Karin Law protocol, training records), preparation of defense submissions, evidence presentation and accompaniment during inspector visits. If a fine is issued, we assess administrative remedies —reconsideration or judicial appeal within the 15-day deadline— and design the defense strategy. A well-managed audit can be closed without sanction; a poorly managed one leads to repeat fines, serial worker lawsuits and public exposure.