CHILE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Christian Alvarado and Agustín Alcalde, Clyde & Co Chile
Clyde & Co Chile Orinoco 90 Tower 1, 22 Floor Las Condes Santiago de Chile Chile Tel: +56 264657043 Email: info@clydeco.cl Web: www.clydeco.com
The Karin Act in Practice: Timeliness, Institutional Capacity, and the Cost of Delay In Chile, Law No 21,643, known as the “Karin Act”, entered into force in August 2024 and represents one of the most significant recent reforms of Chilean labour law in the areas of prevention, investigation and sanctioning of workplace harassment, sexual harassment and violence at work, including conduct committed by third parties outside the employment relationship. Its enactment responded to the need to strengthen the protection of employees’ dignity and to establish effective, timely and reliable mechanisms to address such conduct in the world of work. One of the central pillars of the new framework is the establishment of a formal, structured investigation procedure subject to clear rules, whether conducted by the employer or by the Labour Board (Chile’s labour authority). In particular, the legislation places strong emphasis on the prompt handling of complaints, set - ting a maximum 30-day period for the conclusion of the investigation, and applying principles such as timeliness, confidentiality, impartiality, gender per - spective and due process. This regulatory design seeks to avoid the unnecessary prolongation of con - flict situations, reduce re-victimisation, and provide legal certainty to all parties involved. However, more than a year after its entry into force, practical experience has begun to reveal significant tensions between the legal design and its administra - tive implementation. In particular, where the investi - gation is conducted directly by the Labour Board – whether following a direct complaint by the employee or a referral by the employer – a growing gap can be
observed between the statutory mandate of speed and the actual timeframes of the proceedings. This situation has resulted in significant delays, with con - crete legal and economic consequences for both employees and employers, which constitutes the central focus of this analysis. The Legal Investigation Model Under the Karin Act The Karin Act establishes, for the first time in Chilean labour law, a formal, standardised legal investigation model for complaints of workplace harassment, sex - ual harassment and violence at work. The procedure is triggered by the filing of a complaint, which may be submitted either directly to the employer or to the Labour Board, through the in-person or electronic channels available for this purpose. Where the complaint is filed with the company, the employer must inform the complainant that the com - pany may either initiate an internal investigation or refer the complaint to the Labour Board. Regardless of the option chosen, the employer is required to imme - diately adopt protective measures to safeguard the affected employee, such as separating workspaces or referring the employee to psychological support, and to inform the Labour Board of that decision within the statutory timeframe. In cases where the complaint is directed against individuals exercising employer func - tions or senior management roles, the law mandates compulsory referral to the administrative authority. If the investigation is conducted by the employer, it must strictly comply with the procedure regulated by the Act and its implementing regulation, observing principles such as timeliness, confidentiality, impar -
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