CHILE Law and Practice Contributed by: Christian Alvarado and Agustín Alcalde, Clyde & Co Chile
workplace harassment as incorporated and reinforced by the Karin Act. This definition covers conduct involv - ing harassment, aggression or humiliation, which may occur even as a single act and includes behaviours traditionally referred to as bullying or mobbing. These protections apply regardless of the perpetrator’s hier - archical position and cover any affected employee. With respect to discrimination, Article 2 of the Labour Code establishes a broad list of protected grounds (including race, sex, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, trade union membership, religion, among others), which is not exhaustive, as the provi - sion expressly includes the wording “among others”. This approach, strengthened by the Karin Act, allows conduct not expressly listed to be classified as dis - criminatory where its purpose or effect is to nullify or impair equality of opportunity or treatment in employ - ment, unless the distinction is based on objective qualifications required for a specific position. In addition, alongside the administrative and internal investigation procedures for workplace harassment or discrimination, employees may also resort to the fundamental rights protection action before labour courts. This is a specific judicial mechanism designed to address violations of fundamental rights arising in the context of the employment relationship, further reinforcing the protection framework. Finally, these protections have undergone a signifi - cant recent development with the entry into force of the Karin Act in August 2024, which expanded the scope of protected conduct, strengthened procedural principles, and established the only formal investiga - tion procedure applicable to workplace harassment, sexual harassment, violence at work and discrimina - tion linked to such conduct. 8.4 Criminal Cases Where the facts under investigation may constitute a criminal offence, the employer must distinguish the applicable legal framework.
In the context of the Karin Act, the employer is required to inform the reporter about the available criminal reporting channels, such as the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the police or the PDI. However, this does not entail an automatic obligation for the employer to file a criminal complaint. The legislation does not establish a general duty for employers to report criminal con - duct, without prejudice to specific cases in which a reporting obligation may arise under Article 175 of the Chilean Criminal Procedure Code. In any event, the internal investigation must be conducted in accord - ance with the procedure set out in Law Karin, applying the relevant protective measures and respecting its governing principles, regardless of whether a parallel criminal process is pursued. With respect to economic crimes, there is no auto - matic legal obligation to report the conduct, although doing so may be advisable, particularly as evidence of the effectiveness of a crime prevention model. An internal investigation may provide a sufficient basis for corrective actions and for a potential report to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, provided that evidence is collected lawfully and that confidentiality and propor - tionality are respected. In such cases, it is recom - mended that the investigation be conducted by pro - fessionals with expertise in criminal law and corporate criminal liability, and that the accused be informed that the information gathered may be disclosed to the authorities. 8.5 Multi-Jurisdictional HR Internal Investigations There are no specific procedures established under Chilean law for multi-jurisdictional internal investiga - tions. In such cases, the employer must adhere to the provisions of its internal regulations and internal inves - tigation policies, applying the general rules of Chil - ean labour law when the facts or their effects occur in Chile. In any event, the applicable local regulations in each involved jurisdiction must be respected, par - ticularly in labour, confidentiality and personal data protection matters.
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