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Working relations between employers and employees are regulated in Chile by The Code of Work and by complementary laws included in the work contract.

The legal parties are outlined in terms of:

Employer-the person or entity which uses the intellectual or manual services of one or more people, specified contractually

Employee-any person who offers intellectual or manual services according to the specifications outlined by the contract which the employer creates

Independent worker-who exercising their activity does not depend on an employer nor has employees working for them

In terms of work legislation and social security, a business is understood as any organisation which employs people under a management with an economic, social, cultural or beneficiary objective legally determined as an individual entity.

The working contract is the means by which both parties can be guaranteed, the employer-that the employee will carry out the services and the employee pledges to renumerate the employee as specified.

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The work contract must contain at least the following information:

· Place and date of work
· Indication of full name, nationality, date of birth and entry date of the employee
· Determine the nature of the work and the place or city in which this will be carried out. The contract should mention 2 or more specific job functions which can be separate or complementary.
· The salary, form and frequency of agreed remuneration
· Length and Distribution of working day, except where the company operates on a rota system, in which case it will be subject to internal regulation.
· Length of Contract
· Other work-related agreements made by both parties

When an employee must change address due to work, their original address must be stated
If, due to the nature of the job, the worker must frequently travel in the working day, the geographical area in which the company operates must be mentioned

The working contract can be individual or collective. The contract is individual when it is agreed between an employer and an employee and collective when is agreed between one or more trade unions or workers who form together to negotiate collectively, with a view to establishing common working and remuneration conditions, for a determined period of time.

The contract is mutually signed and must state the dates on both copies, one of each going to each party. The employer who does not sign the contract within 15 days of the employee starting work (5 days in the case of projects lasting fewer than 30 days) will be sanctioned by law

Legal Requirements to Employ Foreign Workers in Chile

For a foreigner to be allowed to work in Chile, they must be legal residents in their country of origin and should be authorized to work in Chile by their country of origin.

Requirements for foreigners to be granted a visa subject to contract are:

1. The company or institution must have a legally recognised address in Chile.
2. The working contract must be signed before a notary by the employer and worker or those representing them. If signed abroad, it must be signed by both parties before a consulate or diplomatic agent recognised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs according to the procedure established in the Civil Code of Procedure.
3. Professionals or specialised technicians must be accredited with the respective title duly legalised. Contrary to this, their knowledge or ability in their specialized field must be evidenced through the necessary documentation.
4. If the profession, industry or work of the contracted party is indispensable to the development of the country, an official report by an accredited organisation would need to be made to substantiate the grounds for this
5. The activities carried out by the foreigner should not endanger national security. If there is any query relating to the nature of the work, prior to application the National Ministry of Defence should be contacted.
6. The contract should be verified in accordance with the appropriate work-related legislation and regarding health and social provisions.

The Norms of the Working Schedule

The length of the working week must not exceed 45 hours per week.

The employer has the right to extend this by two daily hours prior to Christmas, national holidays or other festivals. In this case, the hours exceeding the aforementioned maximum will be paid as extraordinary hours.

Extraordinary hours can only be allocated to cater for temporary situations within the company. Such agreements should be put in writing and be valid for a period of no longer than three months, with the possibility of extension provided that both parties agree. Extraordinary hours carried out without a written agreement and with the knowledge of the employer will be paid as extraordinary hours.

Extraordinary hours must be paid with a 50% increment and should be paid alongside remuneration in the respective period. Hours worked in lieu are not considered extra hours. These should be officially requested by the employee and authorized by the employer

Breaks during the Working Day

The working day must be divided into two parts, leaving a minimum of 30 minutes for a meal break. This is not considered as time worked during the working day.

Sundays and Public Holidays are days off, except those industries authorised by law to work on those days. Excluded from this are jobs which require ongoing production or are subject to forces majeures that require the workers presence. Companies excluded from the Sunday off should be allowed a rest day in lieu of this or other public holidays on which employees have to be present.

Remuneration

The term remuneration refers to the salary paid to the employer valued in terms of money and stated in the contract. Remuneration does not include the following: transport allowances, cash losses, wear and tear, meals, perdium, family loans granted by law compensation for years of service and other factors relating to contract termination or refunds of expenses for accidents which happened at work

The following do form part of remuneration:

· Salary which is the fixed amount of money paid at determined periods (e.g. monthly) stated in the contract for services rendered.
· Extraordinary hours
· Commission, which is a percentage of the sales price which the employer agrees in conjunction with the employee
· Shares or a proportion of the profits of a business or only one or more sections or branches.
· Bonuses which corresponds to the part of the profits which the employer shares with their employee and adds to their remuneration

Remuneration must be paid in money of legal tender with a frequency stipulated in the contract and no later than 1 month after the work is carried out.

The employer must deduct from remunerations taxes, social security and other provisions in conjunction with the relevant public or private organizations

Holiday Entitlement

Workers with more than one year service have the right to 15 days paid holiday. Saturday is not considered a working day. Remunerations are paid in this period as stipulated in the contract via the fixed remuneration. In the case of employees with variable earnings, an average of earnings over the previous three months will be taken.

These holidays are a legal entitlement and should only be paid in money instead if the employer leaves the company before taking their annual leave.