On April 26, the reduction of the working day to 44 hours will begin to take effect, as a result of the 40-hour weekly law approved in April 2023, which established a gradual decrease from the current 45 hours, to reach 40 hours. in 2028. This is how in 2026 the working day will be reduced from 44 to 42 hours; and in 2028, forty, making Chile the Latin American country with the shortest work week along with Ecuador.
In this context, several companies have already begun to reduce weekly working hours, a process that began even before the discussion of the law, led by the financial services sector, such as some banks, which have implemented not only a reduction in hours, but also hybrid models, which combine in-person work with remote work, with the aim of contributing to a better reconciliation of work and personal life.
In fact, it was the pandemic that accelerated this process, since it forced work systems to be adapted within an initial framework of restrictions on travel and limitations on the operation of a large number of companies.
In Ñuble, the Bluemix bookstore is an example of those companies that were ahead of the law, since, since the days of the social outbreak, when the public decreased drastically in the afternoons, they began to close earlier, a change that has been valued for its workers.
Viviana Vega works 43 and a half hours a week and assured that she has noticed the change. She works as Bluemix’s human resources manager and, according to what she said, her hours are Monday to Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with 30 minutes of snack time, plus one Saturday a month, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
“The reduction began before the pandemic, there were protests that were affecting transportation, and since a large part of Bluemix workers use collective transportation, the company’s board of directors made the decision to reduce the working day to 43 and a half hours. which has had good results, both for the company and for the workers,” he stated.
The professional explained that, to achieve this change, “the company had to invest in infrastructure: so that we could have lunch, a very cozy dining room was set up, with all the regulations established by mutual societies.”
“With the reduction in working hours, workers have had more time to dedicate to our family, to do some type of sport or hobby, for leisure and also for personal and professional development, which translates into better quality of life,” summarized Viviana Vega.
Implementation
Francisco Saldías, president of the Ñuble Regional Council of the College of Accountants of Chile, explained that “on April 26, 2024, the gradual reduction of the working day from 45 to 40 hours as a weekly limit begins, which cannot be distributed over more than 6 days. “, not even in less than 4 days.”
He added that, “in the most complex cases, the reduction of the new 40-hour day may be done in a calendar week or based on weekly averages in periods of up to four weeks. It also includes teleworking or remote work.”
“In the work that allows it – he continued -, for fathers and mothers of children up to 12 years old, it may be agreed to anticipate or delay the start of their work by up to one hour, which will also determine the departure time at the end of the work. the day.”
Along these lines, the Seremi of Labor in Ñuble, Eduardo Riquelme, pointed out that, “the implementation of this law that makes History has been worked on since its approval, disseminating it in all the communes of the region. In talks and discussions we have answered all the questions and resolved all the doubts that have been presented to Seremi and the Labor Directorate. Now we are in the final stretch and starting on April 27, the first hourly reduction of the process should occur, which is one hour in the maximum ordinary day, leaving it at 44 hours. This decrease may not imply a reduction in the worker’s remuneration.”
The authority explained that, “if there are companies that have doubts about their schedule adjustment plan, they can present the proposal to the Regional Directorate of Labor, which will decide whether or not it complies with what is required by the law and the opinions issued.”
Asked about the sanctions in case of non-compliance, Riquelme asserted that “employers who do not reduce the maximum working day, starting on April 27, may be sanctioned with fines ranging from 3 to 60 UTM ($194,379 to $3,887,580). ), depending on the number of workers in the company”, detailing that the Labor Directorate will be in charge of supervising compliance with this standard.
Adaptation in companies
In Chile, a total of 772 companies have been certified with the 40 hours seal, several of them with a presence in the region.
As for companies with headquarters in Ñuble, according to Seremi there are a total of six that have obtained the seal: Soquipra Ltda., from Chillán Viejo; Sociedad Centro Carnes Ltda., of Quillón; Akami Gastronomic Society Ltda., of Chillán; La Cabaña de Piedra Ltda., from Pinto; Barak SpA, of San Carlos; and Comida Rápida MyD Ltda., from Chillán.
Added to these are two other companies in the region that are in the certification process and an undetermined number that, although they have reduced the working day to 40 hours, have not requested certification, as is the case of the Marina del Sol Chillán casino, which implemented the change on January 1.
“In the case of Ñuble we have observed that companies, to adapt to the reduction in working hours, have chosen to reorganize work shifts, reduce operating hours or change the distribution. Some are even giving their workers an afternoon off,” commented the Labor minister.
The above also represents a challenge for those professionals in the area of administration and human resources. According to Francisco Saldías, “accountants are training to advise employers, who, for the most part this year, have decided to reduce one hour and“On Friday afternoon.”
The union leader explained that companies, “the vast majority, are choosing to reduce the legal weekly working hours” and ruled out the increase in overtime as a general solution. “In normal times, overtime is not an option, as it has an additional cost; They are only left for times of work overloads that allow their profitability.”
Saldías was emphatic that “this decrease cannot affect salaries, therefore, it is the employers who must pay this additional cost achieved by Law.”
In that sense, the regional president of the accountants maintained that, “from now on, I“We recommend that all employers make an annex to the contract, with the agreement of the worker or collective agreements with the union, specifying the way in which hours will be reduced.” Likewise, he warned that, “the employer must respond to hundreds of regulations and legal demands, at a high cost in the event of non-compliance, for which he must be constantly well advised.”
Advance reduction
The Akami restaurant, on O’Higgins Avenue (there are three in Chillán, but they are different companies), has a staff of 40 workers, including part-time workers, and was the first company in Chillán to reduce the working day to 40 hours.
Leonardo Martínez, partner of the firm, recalled that “this started in the context of the pandemic, which was a hard blow for the industry, but something positive must be rescued from every crisis, since there we realized that people, As restrictions were eliminated, such as the curfew, for example, I did not go out after a certain time at night. So, our collaborators had a contract for 45 hours a week, but in reality, they left earlier every day. And we were able to work well despite leaving an hour early.”
Before the pandemic, the restaurant closed after 1:00 a.m., however, they currently close at 11:30 p.m., except on weekends, when they do so at 1:00 a.m.
The businessman explained that, when the reduction of working hours began to be discussed at the national level, he analyzed the issue with his partner – his father – given that, in practice, employees were working close to 40 hours. “We anticipated it because we knew that the law was going to be approved at some point, so we thought it was better to get used to it now and organize ourselves with what we had, taking advantage of this change that was generated in the pandemic with the demand; We began to organize the shifts of all the staff, waiters, delivery people, cashiers, kitchen masters and bartenders and we realized that a 40-hour day was a perfect fit for us; So we started with the 40 hours and modified the contracts, until in October 2022 everyone was already with the change,” he said.
Martínez highlighted the positive results they have had, in terms of efficiency, productivity and work environment, thanks to this reduction. “At first, there was misinformation mainly from people, because they thought that the reduction was going to imply a reduction in salary or that they were going to have a greater workload, fears that we gradually removed by giving them information, and people began to understand that it was a complete benefit for them,” he commented.
“For people, this reduction allows them to go and drop their kids off at school, or go pick them up in the afternoon, it allows them to start playing sports, leisure, studying, and so they began to realize that it was a benefit, more than an overload. Obviously, this has to go hand in hand with strategic planning in terms of ordering production in such a way that it does not imply an overload for people. So, we began to identify and document our processes and organize them in such a way that it did not mean an overload of work,” she explained. In that sense, he clarified that, although it was not necessary to hire more personnel, it did open the possibility of creating quotas of part-time workers, which they come to reinforce, which is also a contribution in terms of generating employment.
He acknowledged that the measure may imply a small increase in costs, but defended that, when contrasted with the increase in productivity, the result is positive. “Performance is better, for example, a waiter who has a shorter day, has a better disposition, serves better, makes fewer mistakes and makes the service more fluid, therefore, there is better public turnover. I remember that in the past, it used to happen to us that the place would fill up, there would be a lot of people waiting in line, and today we have the same number of tables, but that doesn’t happen, and that’s because we adapt our processes, we have better speed in the kitchen, in the service and at the bar.”
“As an employer you see good results, mainly the quality of the work environment improves, there is no fatigue from such extensive work, given that it is a slightly shorter day; It also generates a sense of belonging, because we, being one of the few with 40 hours, people wanted to work with us, and today people want to work with us, we notice it every time a vacancy opens up; So, for us it has been a total benefit in that aspect,” argued the Akami partner.
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