Chile: New Electronic Payroll Book Law intends to Modernise the Labour Department

On 1 October 2021, Law Number 21,327 came into force, which seeks to modernise the Labour Department and make the electronic registration of labour documentation mandatory for employers, including, among other incorporations, the declaration of the “Electronic Remunerations Book”.

Chilean legislation establishes that all employees governed by the Labour Code with five or more employees must keep a remunerations book, so the obligation only changes its format, having to be uploaded virtually on the website of the Labour Department.

The employer must register in a standardised and monthly manner, the payments of remunerations, allowances, other benefits and indemnities made to the employees, within the first 15 days of the month following the respective payment.

Since March 2021, voluntary adoption was enacted to offer users a gradual process of adaptation to the new technological tools and familiarisation with the electronic platform. On 11 November 2021, the Labour Department ended the voluntary period and revealed a calendar plan for the declaration of the business year 2021, which indicates that the remunerations paid in the period between January and September 2021, will have to be uploaded by the first 15 days of February 2022.

The Labour Department has also indicated that it will observe strict control over the processing of personal data, following the rules and principles of Law No. 19,628 on data privacy protection.

Key Action Points for Human Resources and In-house Counsel

• Employers must fulfill their obligation to declare the remunerations book in this new standard, since it is the equivalent, in electronic format, to the remuneration book established in the Chilean Labour Code.
• Special term for remunerations paid between January and September 2021: employers have until 15 February 2022 to upload the relevant data to the Labour Department’s website.