CHILE Law and Practice Contributed by: Christian Alvarado and Agustín Alcalde, Clyde & Co Chile
• the express recognition of the right of every person to a world of work free from violence and harass - ment (Article 4.1); • the definition of violence and harassment as unac - ceptable behaviours, practices or threats – whether occurring once or repeatedly – that aim at, result in, or are likely to result in physical, psychological, sexual or economic harm (Article 1 (a)); • the obligation of States to respect, promote and ensure the elimination of violence and harassment in all work-related contexts; and • the express possibility for national legislation to regulate violence and harassment as a single con - cept or as separate categories (Article 1, paragraph 2). Recommendation No 206 complements Convention No 190 by reinforcing the need for preventive policies, effective remedial measures, and accessible and reli - able investigation mechanisms, highlighting the cen - tral role of employers in the detection, investigation and sanctioning of such conduct. The transposition of these international standards into Chilean law is reflected in several key features of the Karin Act. In particular, the Act: • expressly recognises violence and harassment as unacceptable conduct in the workplace; • extends its scope of application to all contexts connected to work, and not merely the physical workplace; and • imposes an active role on employers in preven - tion, investigation and sanctioning, through stand - ardised procedures subject to defined principles, stages and timeframes. From a systemic perspective, the legal sources under - pinning the new Chilean labour compliance model therefore derive not only from domestic legislative reform, but directly from Convention No 190 and Rec - ommendation No 206 of the ILO. These international instruments establish that workplace violence and harassment are unacceptable, even as isolated inci - dents, and require States to adopt effective measures for prevention, investigation and sanction. Law No 21,643 incorporates these requirements into Chilean law, creating a mandatory compliance framework in
the labour sphere. This represents a significant shift: investigations that were previously discretionary for employers have become legally imposed duties in defined cases. 1.3 Communication Channels In Chile, the existence and design of communication channels must be analysed by distinguishing between general compliance frameworks and the specific regime applicable to workplace harassment, sexual harassment and violence at work under the Karin Act. General Communication Channels (Non-Karin Act Frameworks) Outside the specific scope of the Karin Act, employ - ers commonly implement general reporting or ethics channels as part of their compliance and risk-man - agement systems. These channels are designed to allow employees and other stakeholders to report potential irregularities, breaches of internal policies or other misconduct, whether internal or external, in written or electronic form. Within this general com - pliance framework, reporting channels may admit both identified and anonymous complaints. Anony - mous reporting is recognised as a legitimate tool for detecting risks and encouraging reporting, although it also presents practical limitations, such as difficulties in gathering additional information or assessing the credibility of the allegations. Importantly, in this gen - eral context, the existence of an anonymous report does not prevent the employer from assessing the situation and adopting preventive or corrective meas - ures in accordance with its general duty of care. Communication Channels Under the Karin Act The regulatory landscape changes in relation to com - plaints concerning workplace harassment, sexual har - assment and violence at work. Under the Karin Act and its implementing regulation, employers are expressly required to make available and inform appropriate channels for the receipt of such complaints. The regulation allows complaints to be submitted verbally or in writing, in person or electronically, either to the employer or to the Labour Board, and requires that a receipt be issued and clear information about the procedure be provided.
80 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook