Chile: Amendments Regarding Labour Inclusion of Persons With Disabilities and Disability Pension Assignees

Last August, the new law that amends the Labour Code and other legal bodies regarding labour inclusion of persons with disabilities and disability pension assignees was published. The following are the most relevant amendments regarding employment:

A) Increase of minimum hiring quota

One of the most important modifications introduced by the Law is the increase of the hiring quota for people with disabilities and/or disability pension assignees, which goes from 1% to 2% for those companies obliged to comply with it, i.e., those with a staff of 100 or more workers.

 

B) Subsidiary compliance with the Law

Prior to the entry into force of this law, companies that, for justified reasons, could not directly comply with the hiring quota for people with disabilities and/or disability pension recipients had to comply with the obligation in an alternative manner. With this law, this last possibility is modified, with the donation modality becoming a subsidiary form. This is because the objective of this Law is for companies to comply with the hiring quota directly, and only in case of impossibility, it can be complied with through one of the subsidiary measures (previous alternatives).

 

C) Additional modifications to be implemented

– Incorporate accessibility measures to prevent harassment of workers with disabilities and/or disability pension recipients in the employer’s Internal Regulations on Order, Hygiene and Safety.

– Prepare and provide annually to workers a protocol of work environments which regulates equal opportunities and social inclusion of people with disabilities.

– Adjust the mechanisms, procedures, and practices of recruitment and selection of personnel to safeguard equal opportunities for people with disabilities and/or assignees of disability pension.

 

D) Validity of the law

This law became effective when it was published in the Official Gazette, except for the following amendments:

– The increase of the quota from 1% to 2% of hiring, will come into effect on January 1 of the year following the issuance of a report from the Ministries of Labour and Social Welfare, Social Development and Family, and Finance, which accredits that 80% of the obligated companies have complied with the 1% hiring currently in force.

– The modifications regarding penalties established for non-compliance with the hiring percentage (either 1% or 2%) and subsidiary compliance will come into effect the year following the publication of the law.