Law No. 21,275 which amends the Labor Code, complementing the Labor Inclusion Law, in the sense of requiring companies to adopt measures to facilitate the inclusion of workers with disabilities.

On October 21, 2020, Law No. 21,275 was published in the Official Gazette. This law modified the provisions of the so-called "Labor Inclusion Law No. 20.422", and incorporated, in the Labor Code, a new article 157 quater that establishes a series of measures to be implemented regarding the inclusion of Workers with Disabilities.

The following is an analysis of the main aspects of this standard.

1. Scope of application of the new article 157 quater: 

This rule is applicable to companies with 100 or more employees, which, according to the general rules of the Labor Inclusion Law, must maintain at least 1% of the total number of employees with disabilities.

2. Obligation to have at least one employee with knowledge of Labor Inclusion in the Human Resources area of the company.

Paragraph 1 of this article incorporates the requirement for the Company to have at least one employee with specific knowledge in matters that promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in the labor market. This, among those who perform functions in the area of Human Resources 

For these purposes, it is understood that workers who have a certification in this regard granted by the National System for the Certification of Labor Competencies of Law No. 20,267 have this knowledge.

In accordance with the provisions of Law No. 20,267, the entities that perform this certification are the Centers for the Evaluation and Certification of Labor Competencies, which are accredited by "Chile Valora" (www.chilevalora.cl).www.chilevalora.cl).  

3. Obligation to promote inclusion policies and to implement, on an annual basis, training programs.

The second paragraph of the new article 157 quater establishes the obligation of the company to promote policies on labor inclusion.

These policies must be reported annually to the Labor Directorate, in accordance with the Regulation contained in Decree No. 64 of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare of February 1, 2018 on the Labor Inclusion Law. In accordance with this Regulation, the information of policies on inclusion must be delivered together with the electronic communication that the company must make in January of each year to the Labor Directorate, informing the total number of workers, the number of workers with disabilities or disability pension assignees to be hired, as well as the number of current contracts that they maintain with persons with disabilities or disability pension assignees.

Finally, the second paragraph of 157 quater also establishes the Company's duty to develop and implement annual training programs for its personnel, in order to provide them with tools for effective labor inclusion within the company.

4. Company activities should consider equal opportunity standards and social inclusion of people with disabilities. 

The third and final paragraph of the new Article 157 quater establishes the obligation that the activities carried out by the company, both during and outside the working day, must always consider the rules contained in the Labor Inclusion Law No. 20,422, as well as the general principles contained in the other relevant rules on the subject.

VALIDITY OF THE LAW.

The transitory article of this Law 21,275 establishes that its provisions will become effective on the first day of the 25th month after the law is published. In view of the foregoing, these provisions will finally be enforceable as from November 2022. 

*This document was originally published in 2020 and we are sharing it again as these obligations will become effective next November.