Workplace Hygiene and Safety Regulations Chile (Reglamento Interno de Higiene y Seguridad)

The Workplace Hygiene and Safety Regulations Chile (Reglamento Interno de Higiene y Seguridad — RIHS) is the mandatory written document that every Chilean company employing 10 or more workers must maintain, setting out the specific occupational safety and hygiene rules, worker obligations, prohibited conduct, personal protective equipment (EPP) requirements, and disciplinary procedures applicable in the workplace, in compliance with Ley 16.744 of 1968 Article 67, DS 40 of 1969, and Código del Trabajo Article 153.

Código del Trabajo Article 153 requires every company employing 10 or more workers to maintain a Reglamento Interno de Orden, Higiene y Seguridad (RIOHS) — a document that combines internal order rules (including working hours, absences, and disciplinary procedures) with hygiene and safety rules. In practice, the hygiene and safety component is often drafted and maintained as a separate RIHS for clarity and to facilitate separate distribution and review by the Comité Paritario de Higiene y Seguridad, the mutual society, and the Dirección del Trabajo. DS 40/1969 Article 14 specifies the minimum content of the hygiene and safety component.

Ley 16.744 of 5 February 1968 — Ley sobre Accidentes del Trabajo y Enfermedades Profesionales — established Chile's occupational injury and disease insurance system and placed affirmative prevention obligations on every employer. Article 67 of Ley 16.744 specifically requires employers to implement prevention measures including the maintenance of internal safety regulations and the instruction of workers in those regulations. Non-compliance with Article 67 obligations is an aggravating factor in any Ley 16.744 insurance claim investigation conducted by the affiliated mutual society (ACHS, IST, or Mutual de Seguridad) or the ISL.

The DS 40/1969 Reglamento sobre Prevención de Riesgos Profesionales governs the composition and functions of the Comité Paritario de Higiene y Seguridad (CPHS), the requirements for the Departamento de Prevención de Riesgos (companies with 100+ workers), and the content of the Obligación de Informar (ODI). Under DS 40 Article 14, the RIHS must identify all hazards present in each workplace area and specify the preventive measures applicable to each — a requirement that integrates the RIHS with the risk prevention protocol (Protocolo de Prevención de Riesgos) and the risk matrix (IPER).

The Superintendencia de Seguridad Social (SUSESO) — the supervisory body for the Ley 16.744 system — oversees the mutual societies and the ISL, and publishes the annual statistical reports (Estadísticas de Accidentes del Trabajo y Enfermedades Profesionales) that inform the risk classification process. SUSESO Circulares specify compliance requirements binding on all mutual societies and their affiliated employers.

The RIHS must be reviewed and updated whenever workplace conditions, processes, machinery, or chemicals change in a manner that introduces new hazards or alters existing risk levels. The Comité Paritario de Higiene y Seguridad has the function under DS 40 of reviewing the RIHS and proposing amendments. Every amendment to the RIHS must be communicated to all workers with sufficient notice and must be notified to the Dirección del Trabajo under Código del Trabajo Article 156.

A copy of the approved RIHS must be deposited with the Dirección del Trabajo regional office (Inspección del Trabajo) within five business days of its approval or any amendment, under Código del Trabajo Article 156. Every worker must receive a physical copy of the RIHS — or access to a digital version — and must sign an acknowledgment of receipt. The Juzgados de Letras del Trabajo have repeatedly held that an employer who cannot demonstrate delivery of the RIHS to a worker may not rely on that worker's violation of safety rules as grounds for dismissal under Código del Trabajo Article 160.

The Servicio Nacional de Capacitación y Empleo (SENCE) — under the Ministerio del Trabajo y Previsión Social — administers training subsidies (franquicia tributaria SENCE) that employers may use to fund safety training programs referenced in the RIHS, reducing the cost of compliance with DS 40 training obligations.

A Workplace Hygiene and Safety Regulations document (Reglamento Interno de Higiene y Seguridad) in Chile is required by law whenever a company reaches or maintains a workforce of 10 or more workers, under Código del Trabajo Article 153 read in conjunction with Ley 16.744/1968 Article 67 and DS 40/1969.

The RIHS is needed when a company is newly formed and begins hiring workers — the obligation attaches from the moment the tenth worker is engaged. The RIHS must be prepared, approved by management, submitted to the Comité Paritario de Higiene y Seguridad (where applicable), deposited with the Dirección del Trabajo, and distributed to all workers before the company's operations begin with that workforce level.

The document is needed when an existing RIHS becomes outdated due to changes in: the company's work processes or production methods, the introduction of new machinery or chemical substances, a change in the company's premises or physical layout, a modification in the applicable DS 594 or MINSAL technical standards, or following the occurrence of a workplace accident that reveals gaps in the existing safety rules.

A RIHS update is required by the affiliated mutual society (ACHS, IST, or Mutual de Seguridad) whenever the mutual's technical advisor conducts an on-site audit and identifies that the existing RIHS does not reflect current workplace hazards and controls. The ACHS, IST, and Mutual de Seguridad each provide model RIHS templates and advisory services to help affiliated employers comply with their DS 40 and Ley 16.744 obligations.

The RIHS is needed when establishing the Obligación de Informar (ODI) training program under DS 40 Article 21 — the ODI for each worker must reference the RIHS provisions applicable to their work area. The RIHS is also the document that governs the application of disciplinary sanctions for safety violations, which the Juzgados de Letras del Trabajo will scrutinize if a worker challenges a dismissal based on safety rule violations under Código del Trabajo Article 160 No. 7 (serious breach of obligations).

The document is required when a company undergoes a labour inspection (fiscalización) by the Dirección del Trabajo or an environmental health inspection by the SEREMI de Salud — both agencies will request the current RIHS as a primary compliance document. Absence of a RIHS in a company with 10 or more workers is a direct infraction subject to fines under Código del Trabajo Article 506.

For companies with specialized risk environments — such as chemical manufacturing, food processing, mining subcontractors, construction, healthcare facilities, or agricultural operations — the RIHS must meet additional sector-specific requirements imposed by regulations such as DS 594/1999, DS 148/2003 (hazardous waste), DS 132/2004 (mining), and the MINSAL technical protocols for occupational disease surveillance.

A valid Workplace Hygiene and Safety Regulations document (Reglamento Interno de Higiene y Seguridad) for Chile under DS 40/1969 Article 14 and Código del Trabajo Article 153 must include the following minimum elements to comply with Dirección del Trabajo, mutual society, and SEREMI de Salud requirements.

Company Identification and Scope: Full legal name, RUT, registered address, description of economic activity with CIIU code, total number of workers, affiliated mutual society (ACHS, IST, Mutual de Seguridad, or ISL), and the name of the designated Prevention Officer (Encargado de Prevención) or head of the Departamento de Prevención de Riesgos (required for companies with 100+ workers under DS 40 Article 8).

Legal Framework: Explicit citation of the governing regulations — Ley 16.744/1968 Article 67, DS 40/1969 Article 14, DS 594/1999, Código del Trabajo Articles 153–157 (RIHS obligations) and Article 184 (deber de protección). Sector-specific regulations must also be cited as applicable.

Occupational Hazard Inventory: A systematic description of all physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, and psychosocial hazards present in each work area — informed by the risk matrix (IPER) in the Protocolo de Prevención de Riesgos. Reference to DS 594 threshold limit values for noise (85 dB(A)), dust, chemical agents, and ergonomic loading limits (Ley 20.001 — 25 kg maximum manual handling for adults) is mandatory.

Worker Obligations and Prohibited Conduct: A detailed list of the safety obligations that every worker must comply with — proper use and care of EPP, correct operation of machinery and equipment, compliance with emergency procedures, reporting of accidents and near-miss events, prohibition on working under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and any sector-specific safety rules. The RIHS must state that violation of safety obligations may result in disciplinary sanctions under Código del Trabajo Articles 153 and 160.

Personal Protective Equipment (EPP) Requirements: Specification of the EPP required in each work area — type of helmet, safety footwear, eye protection, hearing protection, respiratory protection, chemical-resistant gloves, high-visibility vest, and fall protection as applicable. The EPP specifications must reference applicable Chilean or international standards (NCh — Normas Chilenas, NIOSH, EN, or ANSI). Under DS 594 and the ACHS/IST/Mutual de Seguridad guidelines, EPP must be provided free of charge by the employer and must be replaced when worn or damaged.

Accident and Near-Miss Reporting Procedure: Step-by-step instructions for reporting a workplace accident or near-miss — including immediate first aid, notification of supervisor, completion of the Denuncia Individual de Accidente del Trabajo (DIAT) form under Ley 16.744 Article 76, and transportation to the affiliated mutual society's medical center (ACHS, IST, or Mutual de Seguridad). The reporting chain and contact numbers must be specified.

Emergency and Evacuation Procedures: Floor plan identifying emergency exits, fire extinguisher locations, assembly point (punto de encuentro), first aid kit locations, and emergency contact numbers (SAMU 131, Bomberos de Chile 132, Carabineros de Chile 133). The RIHS must specify the frequency of mandatory evacuation drills (at least once per year, or as required by the affiliated mutual society).

Comité Paritario de Higiene y Seguridad: Description of the CPHS composition, election procedures (for worker representatives), functions, and meeting schedule (at least monthly). The RIHS must indicate how workers may raise safety concerns with the CPHS and how CPHS recommendations are to be communicated to management.

Disciplinary Procedure for Safety Violations: A graded scale of sanctions applicable to safety rule violations — verbal warning (amonestación verbal), written warning (amonestación escrita), fines (multas — capped at 25% of the worker's daily wage under Código del Trabajo Article 157, collected for the Bienestar Social Fund), and termination for serious violations. The procedure must comply with due process requirements under Código del Trabajo Article 154 No. 10.

Distribution, Acknowledgment, and Deposit: Statement of the employer's obligation to provide each worker with a copy of the RIHS and obtain their signed acknowledgment. The RIHS must be deposited with the Dirección del Trabajo within five business days of approval or amendment under Código del Trabajo Article 156.

Forms-legal.com provides this Reglamento Interno de Higiene y Seguridad Chile template as a practical compliance tool under Ley 16.744/1968, DS 40/1969, and Código del Trabajo Article 153. Every RIHS should be reviewed by the affiliated mutual society's technical advisor (ACHS, IST, or Mutual de Seguridad) and validated by the company's licensed Experto en Prevención de Riesgos before distribution. Los usuarios de forms-legal.com pueden descargar este documento de forma gratuita en formato PDF o DOCX, completar los campos del formulario guiado y obtener un documento listo para firma.