Internal Work Regulations Chile (Reglamento Interno)

Internal Work Regulations Chile (Reglamento Interno de Orden, Higiene y Seguridad — RIOHS) is the mandatory workplace document required by Código del Trabajo Articles 153 through 157, which every empresa employing ten or more workers (dependientes) must maintain, updating it at least annually and making it available to each worker through physical posting at the workplace and individual delivery upon commencement of employment. The RIOHS establishes the internal rules governing the employment relationship within the company — including hours of entry and departure, breaks, meeting points, working hours distribution, obligations and prohibitions of the parties, disciplinary sanctions (sanciones disciplinarias), and the procedures for investigating and sanctioning workplace misconduct including acoso laboral (workplace harassment) and acoso sexual (sexual harassment).

Article 153 of the Código del Trabajo establishes the obligation to maintain a RIOHS and specifies that it must contain at minimum: working hours and rest periods; obligaciones y prohibiciones of both parties; disciplinary sanctions and the internal procedure for their application; identification of the hygiene and safety obligations applicable to the specific workplace; and the protocol for investigating and sanctioning harassment complaints (protocolo de investigación y sanción del acoso laboral y sexual), as required by Ley N° 20.607 (acoso laboral), Ley N° 20.005 (acoso sexual), and the recently enacted Ley N° 21.643 of 2024 (which expanded acoso laboral protections).

Article 154 enumerates the minimum content requirements: obligaciones y prohibiciones; disciplinary sanctions (which must be proportionate and may include written reprimand — amonestación escrita — or fines not exceeding 25% of daily wages — multa de hasta el 25% de la remuneración diaria); the procedure for application of disciplinary sanctions; the procedure for investigating and resolving harassment complaints; the hygiene and safety measures applicable to the workplace and each functional area; and any other specific matter required by the Dirección del Trabajo or the applicable Mutualidad de Empleadores (ACHS, Mutual de Seguridad, or IST) under Ley N° 16.744.

Article 156 establishes that the RIOHS must be submitted to the Dirección del Trabajo for registration within five days of entering into force and that a copy must be sent to each Inspección del Trabajo and the Servicio de Salud (SEREMI de Salud) of the region where the empresa operates. Article 157 provides that workers who are dismissed or sanctioned for conduct listed in the RIOHS that was not validly notified (posted and individually distributed) cannot be held liable for that conduct — making proper publication and distribution of the RIOHS a critical requirement for enforcing disciplinary rules.

The Superintendencia de Seguridad Social (SUSESO), through its circulars and administrative resolutions, and the respective Mutualidades de Empleadores — ACHS (Asociación Chilena de Seguridad), Mutual de Seguridad CChC, and IST (Instituto de Seguridad del Trabajo) — provide technical assistance to employers in drafting RIOHS provisions related to occupational health and safety under Ley N° 16.744 and its implementing decrees, including Decreto Supremo N° 40 (regulations on occupational diseases) and Decreto Supremo N° 594 (basic hygiene and environmental safety conditions in workplaces).

An Internal Work Regulations (RIOHS) Chile document is legally required under Código del Trabajo Article 153 for every empresa that employs ten or more workers — a threshold that applies independently to each legal entity (persona jurídica) operating in Chile, regardless of whether the entity is a branch, subsidiary, or parent company. The ten-worker threshold is assessed at the empresa level (the total workforce under the same RUT employer) rather than at the establishment or work-site level.

The RIOHS must be updated whenever the Código del Trabajo, the Ley N° 16.744, or implementing regulations are amended in ways that affect its required content — for example, the enactment of Ley N° 21.643 in 2024 (expanding acoso laboral protections and modifying investigation procedures) and the implementation of Ley N° 21.391 (reducing the standard working week to 40 hours) required Chilean employers including Walmart Chile, Cencosud, SMU, Sodimac, and Tottus to update their RIOHS provisions on working hours distribution, rest periods, and progressive hour reduction schedules.

New empresas reaching the ten-worker threshold for the first time — common among SERCOTEC-registered PYMEs, CORFO Start-Up Chile portfolio companies, and Fondo de Garantía para Pequeños Empresarios (FOGAPE) beneficiary businesses — must adopt a RIOHS within thirty days of employing their tenth worker and register it with the Inspección del Trabajo and SEREMI de Salud within five days of entry into force, as established by CT Article 156.

Companies that experience significant changes in their operational structure — such as mergers or acquisitions by Chilean private equity firms or international groups, change of legal form (SpA to S.A. or vice versa), opening of new work sites in different Inspección del Trabajo jurisdictions (e.g., expanding from Región Metropolitana to Antofagasta or Biobío), or introduction of new risk activities requiring specific RIOHS provisions — must update their RIOHS to reflect the new operational reality and comply with the specific Dirección del Trabajo and SEREMI de Salud requirements of each región.

The Dirección del Trabajo's enforcement units conduct routine RIOHS compliance audits — particularly following worker complaints (denuncias laborales) about workplace conditions, disciplinary actions, or harassment — and employers without a valid, registered, and properly distributed RIOHS face administrative fines under CT Article 477 and potential adverse findings in any judicial proceedings arising from disciplinary actions that were not supported by a validly notified RIOHS.

A legally compliant Internal Work Regulations Chile (RIOHS) under Código del Trabajo Articles 153–157 and Ley N° 16.744 must include the following mandatory sections, as confirmed by the Dirección del Trabajo's administrative guidance and Dictámenes:

Company Identification and Scope: Full legal name (razón social), RUT, registered address, and description of the company's activities. The RIOHS must define the workers and workplaces to which it applies — including any multi-site operations across different regiones of Chile — and the date of entry into force and subsequent amendments.

Working Hours and Rest Periods (Jornada de Trabajo y Descansos): Detailed specification of: start and end times for each shift (turno) and work location; applicable working hours regimes (jornada ordinaria under CT Article 22, with the gradual reduction to 40 hours per week under Ley N° 21.391; overtime rules under CT Article 30; exceptional working hours regimes under CT Article 38); rest and meal break schedules (colación y descanso under CT Article 34); weekly rest day (descanso semanal under CT Article 35); annual leave entitlements (feriado anual under CT Article 67); and attendance and tardiness recording systems (sistema de registro de asistencia under CT Article 33, whether manual timesheets, biometric systems, or electronic platforms such as those used by payroll processors Buk, Talana, or Laudus).

Obligations of Workers (Obligaciones del Trabajador): A comprehensive list of the conduct expected of workers during and outside working hours when relevant to the employment relationship — including: maintaining confidentiality of employer information; using employer property only for work purposes; following operational procedures and safety instructions; maintaining respectful conduct toward colleagues, supervisors, and clients; complying with anti-corruption and conflicts of interest policies applicable to the industry; and reporting violations of RIOHS provisions to the employer or the Inspección del Trabajo.

Prohibitions on Workers (Prohibiciones del Trabajador): Specific conduct prohibited during working hours and in the workplace, including: consumption of alcohol or drugs; possession of weapons; misuse of employer systems or property; disclosure of confidential information; sexual harassment, workplace harassment (acoso laboral under CT Article 211-A as amended by Ley N° 21.643/2024) or other violent or discriminatory conduct; and unauthorised absence from the workplace.

Obligations and Prohibitions of the Employer (Obligaciones y Prohibiciones del Empleador): CT Article 153 requires the RIOHS to specify the employer's obligations alongside worker obligations — including the obligation to pay remuneration on time, provide safe working conditions, respect worker dignity, and comply with anti-harassment policies.

Disciplinary Sanctions and Procedure (Sanciones Disciplinarias y Procedimiento): The specific disciplinary sanctions applicable to different categories of RIOHS infractions — which under CT Article 154 must be proportionate and may only include written reprimand (amonestación escrita) or a monetary fine of up to 25% of the worker's daily remuneration. The RIOHS must specify the procedure for applying each sanction, including: the right of the worker to be heard (audición del trabajador) before any sanction is imposed; the procedure for giving written notice of the sanction; the right of the worker to challenge the sanction before the Juzgado de Letras del Trabajo; and the accumulation of sanctions that may constitute grounds for termination for serious breach under CT Article 160 N° 7.

Harassment Investigation Protocol (Protocolo de Investigación de Acoso — PIDA/PISU): Mandatory under Ley N° 20.005 (acoso sexual), Ley N° 20.607 (acoso laboral), and Ley N° 21.643/2024, the RIOHS must include a detailed procedure for receiving, investigating, and resolving complaints of workplace harassment (acoso laboral) and sexual harassment (acoso sexual), including: how to submit a complaint (denuncia); the confidentiality obligations of all parties; the investigation timeline (typically 30 days for internal investigation); the roles and responsibilities of the investigator or investigation committee; the precautionary measures available to protect the complainant during investigation (medidas de resguardo); the standards of evidence; the possible outcomes and sanctions; and the right of the worker to request an external investigation by the Inspección del Trabajo under CT Article 211-E when the employer fails to investigate or when the alleged harasser is a senior manager.

Occupational Health and Safety Obligations (Higiene y Seguridad — Ley N° 16.744): Comprehensive occupational health and safety provisions specific to the company's activities, including: risk identification and assessment procedures; mandatory personal protective equipment (EPP) by role and work area; emergency evacuation procedures and assembly points (puntos de encuentro); first aid procedures; accident and near-miss reporting procedures (reporte de accidentes del trabajo and enfermedades profesionales to the Mutualidad — ACHS, Mutual de Seguridad CChC, or IST — and the SEREMI de Salud); alcohol and drugs testing policies; and the requirements of Decreto Supremo N° 594 on basic hygiene and environmental conditions in workplaces issued by the Ministerio de Salud.

Teletrabajo and Technology Use Provisions: Following Ley N° 21.220/2020, the RIOHS should incorporate provisions governing remote workers — including digital disconnection rights (Art. 152 quáter H), acceptable use of employer technology, cybersecurity obligations, and the procedure for remote work location registration.

Distribution and Registration Requirements (Distribución y Registro — CT Articles 156 and 157): Statement of the employer's obligation to: post the RIOHS in visible locations at each workplace; provide each worker with a physical copy upon hire; register the RIOHS with the Inspección del Trabajo and the SEREMI de Salud within five days of entry into force; and update and re-register the document whenever amendments are made.

Forms-legal.com provides this Internal Work Regulations Chile template as a reference for employers drafting or updating their RIOHS. Given the mandatory registration, distribution, and content requirements under CT Articles 153–157, and the severe consequences of non-compliant or non-notified disciplinary sanctions, employers should have their RIOHS reviewed and approved by an abogado laboralista before registration with the Dirección del Trabajo. 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.