MARCH 24, 2020

President Piñera enacts the law to regulate remote working, giving workers more opportunities and greater freedom

The bill enables workers and businesses to agree to days of working from home. The law has gained particular relevance in the context of the global coronavirus pandemic.

President Sebastián Piñera enacted the remote working bill on Tuesday. This bill has gained special relevance in the context of the global coronavirus pandemic because it enables workers to formally carry out their tasks without being physically present on company premises.  

The initiative seeks to achieve a balance between the adaptability required for new forms of hiring labor and the safeguards to which all employed workers are entitled. 

“This bill is designed to give more opportunities and greater freedom to Chilean workers. This will be very useful for everyone, but especially women, young people and senior citizens,” the President explained during a videoconference, in which he was accompanied by the Labor and Social Security Minister, María José Zaldívar. 

The regulation obliges those who provide services outside the company’s premises to sign a contract. Furthermore, if a worker already has a job where they work on the company's premises, they can agree with their employer to switch partly or wholly to remote working or teleworking. This will enable them to find the optimum balance between their work responsibilities and their families and social lives.

“We aim to respect the preferences freely adopted by workers. For any form of teleworking or remote working, there must be an agreement between the employers and the workers. Therefore nothing is done without the free or sovereign will of each worker," explained President Piñera.

The law includes regulations which are innovative in Latin America, bringing together several European standards: the worker’s right to disconnect, respecting his/her rest time, time off and vacations, as well as their personal and family privacy.

The President highlighted that the initiative has gained special relevance because of the health emergency created by the Coronavirus.

“This remote working option is going to enable us to better protect ourselves from the coronavirus pandemic,” concluded the President.