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Original article: 42 horas desde este 26 de abril: a quiénes beneficia la rebaja y qué no puede hacer tu empleador

Starting this Sunday, April 26, Chile is taking a significant step forward in the implementation of the 40-Hour Law, reducing the weekly working hours from 44 to 42 hours.

This new regulation is designed to promote rest and work-life balance for employees, featuring a gradual reduction of working hours aimed at reaching the final target of 40 hours per week by 2028.

Law 21,561 establishes clear obligations for companies and safeguards the fundamental rights of workers.

In this context, academic Hernán Juri, a lecturer at the Strategic Human Resources Management and Labor Relations Diploma at UNegocios, University of Chile, noted that the law «benefits, in general terms, all workers governed by the Labor Code who are currently subject to standard working hours.»

Thus, the change predominantly benefits most private sector employees, with the exception of those who «have exceptional working hour systems or are excluded from hour limitations.»

What Are Employers Prohibited from Doing?

Regarding employer obligations, Juri specified that they must redistribute the reduced hours, whether by shortening the daily workday or accumulating the reduction over one or more days a week.

However, the expert cautioned against prohibited practices. «What is not allowed is to offset this reduction by lowering wages, increasing the intensity of work abusively, or unilaterally altering other essential contract conditions. Employers also cannot ‘simulate’ compliance by reducing formal hours while demanding work outside of prescribed hours,» he explained in an interview with Diario U. de Chile.

It is important to note that the Labor Directorate (DT) recently issued two rulings reminding that the primary mechanism for implementing the reduction in hours is agreement between the parties. However, if no such agreement exists, in five-day workweeks, the two-hour weekly reduction (from 44 to 42 hours) must be applied by reducing one hour at the end of the workday on two different days. For six-day workweeks, the reduction must be implemented by cutting 50 minutes on two different days and 20 minutes on a third day, in accordance with the unit of time established by law.

“Employees Must Earn the Same for Fewer Hours”

One of the most important points that provides legal clarity pertains to remuneration. In this regard, Hernán Juri emphasized that the law leaves no room for ambiguous interpretations and is explicit in stating that the reduction in hours cannot imply a decrease in wages.

“Employees must earn the same for fewer hours. If the opposite occurs, we are facing a legal violation that can be audited and sanctioned by the Labor Directorate. There is no room for creative interpretations here,» he remarked. Thus, those who earn a fixed monthly salary will continue to receive exactly the same amount, despite working two hours less a week starting from April 26.

Benefits for Workers and Businesses

The primary beneficiary of this law is undoubtedly the worker, «in terms of quality of life, work-life balance, and time for rest.» However, businesses implementing these changes can foster a better work environment, reduce employee turnover, and even achieve an increase in productivity.

According to the academic, achieving these goals «depends on good management and evaluating the existing dialogue within the company.» In other words, the reduction in hours alone does not guarantee better corporate results; it requires planning, communication, and respect for team dynamics.

Moreover, Carlos Díaz, an academic from the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Chile, provides a complementary evidence-based perspective. Although he deems the initial reduction (from 45 to 44 hours) implemented on April 26, 2024, as «quite timid,» he stated that positive effects in terms of well-being and productivity have already been observed, without negative impacts.

«Data indicates a decrease in medical leaves in sectors, particularly in services and banking, related to the reduction in working hours. However, in some industries like mining, instead of reducing hours, they have compensated with vacation days, which, although beneficial, does not have the same effects as reducing daily work hours,» Díaz elaborated.

In statements to Diario U. de Chile, he warned about the dangers of rolling back on this matter, dismantling productivity myths, stating that «it would be very bad news, as it would go against the available scientific evidence and would essentially be a dogmatic belief that more work leads to more production, which is completely false.

«In fact, what the data shows, for example, is that in Chile, the productivity level is half per hour compared to Germany: a significant amount of time is lost to presenteeism, poor coordination, and organizations that do not function properly; therefore, betting that being tethered to the workplace increases production and productivity is organizational flat-earthism, to put it mildly.» With these words, the expert dismissed the belief that long hours equate to higher performance and supports the need to continue advancing towards a work culture that is more focused on effective results rather than hours worked.

La entrada Understanding the Impact of the 42-Hour Workweek Reduction in Chile: Benefits and Employer Restrictions se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.