Workplace Harassment Prevention Policy Chile

Workplace Harassment Prevention Policy Chile (Política de Prevención de Acoso Laboral) is the corporate instrument governing the empresa's obligations and procedures under Código del Trabajo Article 211-A — as amended and significantly expanded by Ley N° 21.643 of 2024, known as the Ley Karin — which defines acoso laboral (workplace harassment) and establishes the employer's duty to prevent, investigate, and sanction harassing conduct in the Chilean workplace. The Ley Karin, named after nurse Karin Salgado who died by suicide following severe workplace harassment, represents the most significant reform to Chile's anti-harassment legislation since the original Ley N° 20.607 of 2012 that first incorporated acoso laboral into the Código del Trabajo.

Código del Trabajo Article 211-A defines acoso laboral as repeated aggression exerted by one or more persons against another worker or workers (trabajadores), through any means, which causes them harm, discomfort, or disturbance in the exercise of their functions or which threatens or undermines their dignity or physical or psychological integrity. The Ley N° 21.643/2024 expanded this definition to explicitly include: (1) conduct carried out through digital or technological means (acoso cibernético laboral), including messages, emails, social media posts, and other electronic communications; (2) a single serious act (acto único grave) of sufficient severity to constitute harassment without requiring repeated conduct; and (3) vertical harassment from subordinates to superiors (acoso ascendente), in addition to the previously recognised downward (superior-to-subordinate) and horizontal (peer-to-peer) modalities.

The Dirección del Trabajo — Chile's labour authority under the Ministerio del Trabajo y Previsión Social — administers the enforcement of the anti-harassment provisions of the Código del Trabajo through its Inspecciones del Trabajo in each región. The Dirección del Trabajo's Protocolo de Investigación de Denuncias de Acoso (PIDA) provides employers with guidance on the internal investigation procedure required by CT Article 211-E. The Ministerio de la Mujer y la Equidad de Género and the Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos (INDH) are additional institutional stakeholders in Chile's anti-harassment framework.

All Chilean employers subject to the Código del Trabajo — including multinationals operating through Chilean subsidiaries (Coca-Cola Andina, Nestlé Chile, Samsung Electronics Chile, Amazon Chile), state-owned enterprises (ENAP, TVN, BancoEstado), and PYMEs registered with SERCOTEC — must comply with the Ley Karin's requirements, update their RIOHS harassment protocol, and provide mandatory annual training (capacitación obligatoria) on acoso laboral recognition and prevention to all workers and supervisors.

A Workplace Harassment Prevention Policy Chile is required under Código del Trabajo Article 211-A and Ley N° 21.643/2024 as part of every empresa's mandatory Reglamento Interno de Orden, Higiene y Seguridad (RIOHS). While the policy may be incorporated directly into the RIOHS or exist as a standalone document referenced by the RIOHS, its substantive content — including the definition of acoso laboral, the investigation protocol (PIDA), and the worker protection measures — must comply with the Ley Karin's specific requirements.

Companies that experienced a workplace harassment incident or formal complaint (denuncia de acoso laboral) but lacked a documented investigation protocol face dual exposure: administrative fines from the Dirección del Trabajo for failing to investigate as required by CT Article 211-E, and civil liability in tutela laboral proceedings before the Juzgado de Letras del Trabajo under CT Article 485 if the alleged harasser was a supervisor or manager whose conduct the employer failed to prevent or remedy. Major Chilean employers — including Codelco, Falabella, LATAM Airlines, and Banco Santander Chile — have faced high-profile harassment complaints resulting in significant reputational damage and judicial findings, driving adoption of comprehensive harassment prevention policies.

All Chilean employers with a RIOHS were required to update their harassment prevention protocol to comply with Ley N° 21.643/2024 within the transition period following the law's enactment in January 2024. Employers who have not yet updated their RIOHS and standalone harassment policies to reflect the Ley Karin's expanded definition, mandatory training requirement, digital harassment coverage, and strengthened investigation timelines face compliance gaps that can be identified during routine Dirección del Trabajo fiscalizaciones.

Human resources directors and legal counsel at empresas undergoing RIOHS reviews, new company registrations, or annual HR policy audits should prioritise updating harassment prevention policies following the Ley N° 21.643/2024 reform. Training providers registered with SENCE as OTECs now offer Ley Karin compliance training programmes — linking the mandatory annual training requirement to the empresa's SENCE Franquicia tax benefit under Ley N° 19.518.

A compliant Workplace Harassment Prevention Policy Chile under Código del Trabajo Article 211-A and Ley N° 21.643/2024 must include the following essential components:

Purpose and Scope Statement: A declaration of the empresa's commitment to maintaining a workplace free from harassment (entorno libre de acoso), consistent with the dignity protections of CT Article 485 and the constitutional guarantees of Article 19 N° 1 (right to physical and psychological integrity) of the Constitución Política de la República de Chile. The policy must define the persons to whom it applies — including permanent workers (trabajadores con contrato indefinido), fixed-term workers (trabajadores a plazo fijo), project workers (trabajadores por obra o faena), contractors and subcontractors present at the workplace, and interns or trainees.

Definition of Acoso Laboral (Workplace Harassment): The expanded definition under CT Article 211-A as amended by Ley N° 21.643/2024, including: repeated aggression through any means causing harm, discomfort, or disturbance in the exercise of functions or threatening dignity or physical/psychological integrity; the single serious act (acto único grave) expansion; conduct through digital or technological means (acoso cibernético laboral); and all three modalities — descendente (superior to subordinate), horizontal (peer to peer), and ascendente (subordinate to superior). Provide concrete examples of harassing conduct in the Chilean workplace context — persistent demeaning comments, unjustified exclusion from work activities, public humiliation, excessive work demands designed to undermine the worker, and cyberbullying through corporate communication platforms.

Denunciation Procedure (Procedimiento de Denuncia): Clear instructions for how a worker who experiences or witnesses acoso laboral may submit a formal complaint (denuncia), including: the designated recipient(s) within the company (typically the Human Resources department, the Legal department, or an independent Ethics Hotline); the availability of anonymous reporting channels; the obligation of the recipient to acknowledge receipt within a specific period; and the right of the worker to submit the complaint directly to the Inspección del Trabajo of the Dirección del Trabajo if they prefer external investigation or if the alleged harasser is the employer or a senior manager. Under CT Article 211-E, the employer must initiate the investigation within two days of receiving the complaint and designate an investigator (persona investigadora) who must not have been involved in the complained conduct.

Investigation Protocol (Protocolo de Investigación — PIDA): Detailed procedure for conducting the internal investigation in compliance with CT Article 211-E and the Dirección del Trabajo's PIDA guidelines, including: notification of the accused party (imputado) of the complaint and the charges; interview procedures for the complainant (denunciante), accused, and witnesses; documentation standards; confidentiality obligations for all participants and the investigator; the maximum investigation timeline (30 working days under the Ley Karin); the standard of evidence (balance of probabilities — preponderancia de la evidencia); and the preparation of the investigation report (informe de investigación) with findings and recommendations. The investigation report must be submitted to the employer's senior management and to the Inspección del Trabajo within five days of completion.

Precautionary Measures (Medidas de Resguardo): The employer's obligation to implement immediate precautionary measures to protect the complainant and other potential victims during the investigation period, including: temporary physical separation of the complainant and the accused; temporary reassignment to a different work area or shift; prohibition of contact between the parties; and psychological support resources (servicios de apoyo psicológico) available through the empresa's benefit programme, the ACHS, or the public health system (FONASA / red asistencial).

Sanctions for Confirmed Harassment (Sanciones por Acoso Confirmado): The range of disciplinary sanctions applicable when the investigation confirms acoso laboral, graduated by severity: written reprimand (amonestación escrita) for minor first incidents; monetary fine under RIOHS provisions (CT Article 154); termination for serious cause (despido por causal de caducidad) under CT Article 160 N° 1 (lack of probity or workplace harassment) or CT Article 160 N° 1-bis (workplace harassment — specifically incorporated by Ley N° 20.607 and reinforced by Ley N° 21.643/2024) for serious confirmed harassment. When the harasser is the employer or a member of senior management, the victim may additionally invoke CT Article 171 (constructive dismissal — autodespido por incumplimiento grave del empleador) with full severance entitlements.

Mandatory Training (Capacitación Obligatoria): Under Ley N° 21.643/2024, all employers must provide annual training on acoso laboral prevention and recognition to all workers (capacitación obligatoria anual). The policy must specify: the training content (definition of harassment, reporting procedures, bystander responsibilities, digital harassment examples); the frequency (at minimum annually, with induction training for new hires); the eligible training providers (SENCE-registered OTECs or qualified internal trainers); and the recording and documentation of training attendance. Training costs may be applied against the SENCE Franquicia tax benefit under Ley N° 19.518.

Non-Retaliation Commitment (Compromiso de No Represalias): Express prohibition of any adverse employment action against workers who in good faith report, witness, or participate in investigations of acoso laboral — including reassignment, salary reduction, demotion, exclusion from career development opportunities, or termination. Retaliation against a harassment complainant constitutes a violation of CT Article 485 (fundamental rights protection — tutela laboral) and may result in indemnities of six to eleven months' salary in addition to any other severance owed.

Forms-legal.com provides this Workplace Harassment Prevention Policy Chile as a reference for employers updating their RIOHS and standalone harassment policies in compliance with Ley N° 21.643/2024. Given the expanded scope of the Ley Karin and the mandatory training and investigation timeline requirements, employers should have their updated policy reviewed by an abogado laboralista with expertise in the Ley Karin's implementing provisions. 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.