APRIL 14, 2023

President Boric enacts 40-Hour Law

The new law to reduce working hours was approved last Tuesday by the Chamber of Deputies. After being signed by the president, it will be ready for publication in the Official Gazette. 

President Gabriel Boric signed the enactment of the 40-Hour Law this Friday morning, which reduces the working day in order to improve quality of life for workers throughout the country. 

The law was approved on Tuesday by the Chamber of Deputies, and is now ready for publication in the Official Gazette. It aims to provide an effective rest period for all those whose jobs are covered by the Labor Code. 

It will therefore be possible to celebrate a reduced working day on May 1: International Workers’ Day. 

Details about the new 40-Hour Law 

The 40-Hour Law modifies the Labor Code to reduce the ordinary working week from 45 to 40 hours. This will be done gradually and responsibly, so as not to affect employment and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 

The law to reduce the working day also provides a greater effective rest period to those working special regimes, such as private home workers, and exceptional regimes that require continuous operational processes, such as mining. 

It also establishes social co-responsibility measures that will make it possible to reconcile working life with personal and family life.