In Osorno, the Director of the Corporate Tax Area of the leading locally founded consulting and audit firm explained to more than 50 members of the trade association the scope and implications of the new regulation, which will come into effect—at its first stage—starting April 26.
Read the article in País Lobo.
Law No. 21,561, which amends the Labor Code to reduce working hours, will become a reality on April 26. Therefore, companies and trade associations have been preparing for the initial reduction in working hours. Although the Labor Directorate (DT) has issued some rulings to harmonize the application of the law, uncertainties remain in several areas.
For this reason, just days before companies begin reducing working hours from 45 to 44 hours per week, the Director of the Corporate Tax Area at CCL Auditores Consultores, Carlos Tapia, delivered a talk to the team of the independent trade association “Aproleche” in the city of Osorno, accompanied by the firm’s Southern Region Partner, Renato Estay.
More than 50 people gathered to hear the corporate and tax law specialist from CCL, who began by explaining the objectives of the law, which originated as a parliamentary initiative in 2017 and is being implemented progressively across companies:
Effective date: 04.26.2024 | Ordinary weekly working hours: 44 hours.
Effective date: 04.26.2026 | Ordinary weekly working hours: 42 hours.
Effective date: 04.26.2028 | Ordinary weekly working hours: 40 hours.
On the other hand, Tapia focused on detailing the general rules of the regulation and stated that
“The implementation of the new regulation may in no case result in a reduction of wages for the affected employees.”
He also affirmed that
“The modifications arising from its application—regarding the reduction of working hours—shall be deemed incorporated into individual employment contracts, collective agreements, and internal regulations by operation of law, without the need for formal amendments for such changes to take effect.”
Another topic addressed, in addition to the well-known “Article 22,” was overtime. In this regard, the CCL Director stated that
“The parties may agree in writing that overtime hours be compensated with additional vacation days—up to five working days per year—which must be used by the employee within six months following the cycle in which they were generated. For this purpose, the employee must only notify the employer 48 hours in advance.”
From Aproleche, participants expressed their appreciation and satisfaction with the presentation, where they were able to resolve their main questions regarding the regulation.