Chile's statutory workweek is being reduced to 42 hours per week this month, a milestone that has reignited technical discussions regarding flexibility and the application of new regulations across various productive sectors. The implementation phase of the second stage of the '40-Hour Law' has raised questions among both employers and employees concerning work hour limits and the validity of schedule exemptions.
David Oddó, National Director of the Labor Directorate (Dirección del Trabajo), clarified that being exempt from tracking work hours and clocking in is not a discretionary privilege for any employee. According to CNN Chile, Oddont specified that the so-called “Article 22” is an exception to the rule, not the general standard within labor legislation.
To determine whether a worker is exempt from time-tracking, state authorities must evaluate the nature of their specific duties. The Director explained that roles with administrative powers, such as managers or assistant managers, who require constant mobility, are not subject to time logs. However, he warned that what is written in a contract is not the deciding factor if the day-to-day reality of the job proves otherwise.
“In my employment contract, I could explicitly state in writing that I am excluded from work hour limitations, but in my daily routine, I receive instructions, I face pay deductions if I arrive late, and I am sanctioned if I miss a meeting. In practice, I am subject to a set schedule, and that is what takes precedence,” Oddó noted in an interview with CNN Chile.
In the event of disputes between parties, the Labor Directorate has the authority to intervene and resolve disagreements over work hour exemptions. If the institution's ruling does not satisfy those involved, the regulations allow for the matter to be taken to the labor courts.
The risk of wage segmentation
Alongside the debate over attendance monitoring, there is a technical concern regarding how labor flexibility could deepen gender inequalities. According to an analysis published by El Most:: Mostrador, the pursuit of scheduling adaptability carries the risk of becoming an invisible barrier to equity.
The implementation of the reduced workweek has faced technical hurdles, such as a ruling from the Labor Directorate that limits the reduction of hours to full units of time—one hour less per day—in the absence of mutual agreements. While business associations warn that this rigidity compromises operational continuity, the debate remains focused on the creation of individual agreements.
Nevertheless, economic evidence suggests that poorly designed flexibility can act as a tax on women's career progression. In Chile, the female labor participation rate stands at approximately 52%, compared to 71% for men, according to reports from El Mostrador.
The analysis highlights that the 'motherhood penalty' remains a structural constant in the country. Ten years after the birth of a child, mothers' earnings are, on average, 40% lower than the trajectory they would have followed had they not had children, citing data from Berniell et al. (2021).
This phenomenon is linked to the difficulty of managing availability in jobs that still reward physical presence. The El Mostrador report mentions that, following the thesis of Nobel Laureate Claudia Goldin (2021), many high-income positions disproportionately reward those who can offer immediate availability or long hours. This creates a wage segmentation where women accept lower salaries in exchange for greater schedule predictability.
