Countries › Chile › Guide › 7. Labor and employment › Leave in Chile: annual holiday, maternity and parental leave, paternity leave, maternity job protection, childcare (sala cuna), feeding time, bereavement and marriage leave

Leave in Chile: annual holiday, maternity and parental leave, paternity leave, maternity job protection, childcare (sala cuna), feeding time, bereavement and marriage leave

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

After one year of service workers in Chile get 15 working days of paid holiday (20 in Magallanes, Aysén and Palena), plus one extra day for every three years beyond ten years of work. Mothers get 6 weeks of leave before birth and 12 after, followed by 12 weeks of parental leave (18 if taken half time) paid by a state subsidy, fathers get 5 paid days, and pregnant workers cannot be dismissed without a court order until one year after maternity leave ends. Employers with 20 or more female workers must provide or pay for childcare for children under two.

USD figures use the Central Bank exchange rate of CLP 986.58 per US dollar published in the Diario Oficial of 23 October 2026 (Ley Nº 18.840 art. 44). UTM amounts use the SII value of CLP 72,151 for October 2026. Amounts capped in UF use the SII value of CLP 41,057.20 for 30 September 2026, the value the law applies to payments made in October 2026; other UF amounts use CLP 41,205.16 for 23 October 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Annual paid holiday after one year of service	15 working daysCódigo del Trabajo art. 67, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Annual paid holiday in Magallanes, Aysén and Palena	20 working daysCódigo del Trabajo art. 67, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maternity leave before birth	6 weeksCódigo del Trabajo art. 195, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maternity leave after birth	12 weeksCódigo del Trabajo art. 195, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Postnatal parental leave (full time)	12 weeksCódigo del Trabajo art. 197 bis, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Paid paternity leave on birth	5 daysCódigo del Trabajo art. 195, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Dismissal protection after maternity leave ends	12 monthsCódigo del Trabajo art. 201, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Female workers from which childcare (sala cuna) is mandatory	20 workersCódigo del Trabajo art. 203, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Paid marriage or civil union leave	5 working daysCódigo del Trabajo art. 207 bis, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Workers with more than one year of service are entitled to 15 working days of annual holiday on full pay, or 20 working days in the Magallanes, Aysén and Palena regions. Saturdays never count as working days for holiday purposes. Holiday is granted preferably in spring or summer and, for carers of children under 14 or of dependent persons, preferably during school holidays if requested 30 days in advance.
Cost to do it: Three working weeks of paid absence a year per worker.
Example: On CLP 1,500,000 a month, 15 working days (three calendar weeks) cost about CLP 1,050,000 of paid absence. / About US$1,064.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 21.645, Art. 67 and art. 69, 2023-12-29 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Every worker with ten years of work, for one or more employers, gets one additional holiday day for every three further years worked; only up to ten years with previous employers count. Holiday must be taken continuously, but days above ten working days can be split by agreement, and holiday can be accumulated for at most two consecutive periods.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, Art. 68 and art. 70, 2003-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Holiday cannot be paid out in cash while employment continues. On termination, the employer must pay the untaken holiday and, for workers who have not completed a further year, a proportional amount for the time since hiring or the last anniversary. Full pay during holiday is the base salary or, for variable pay, the average of the last three months.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, Art. 71 and art. 73, 2003-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Female workers are entitled to maternity leave of 6 weeks before and 12 weeks after childbirth, which cannot be waived, during which they may not work and their job must be kept. Postnatal leave is 18 weeks for births before week 33 or babies under 1,500 grams, and grows by 7 calendar days for each additional child in multiple births. Fathers get 5 paid days on the birth of a child, usable continuously from the birth or spread over the first month.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, Art. 195 and art. 196, 2003-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. After postnatal leave, mothers have 12 weeks of parental leave on a subsidy based on the same calculation as maternity leave, or 18 weeks if they return half time, receiving 50 percent of the subsidy and at least 50 percent of fixed pay. Notice must be given by registered letter at least 30 days before postnatal leave ends, copied to the Labour Inspectorate. The mother may transfer weeks from the seventh week onward to the father. An employer that obstructs parental leave is fined 14 to 150 UTM.
Cost to do it: The subsidy is paid by the state system, not the employer; the employer cost is replacing the worker.
Example: Obstruction fine CLP 1,010,114 to CLP 10,822,650. / About US$1,024 to US$10,970.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, Art. 197 bis, 2003-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. A pregnant worker is protected from dismissal (fuero) during pregnancy and until one year after maternity leave ends, not counting parental leave; a father who takes parental leave is protected for twice its length, starting 10 days before, up to three months. Dismissing a protected worker requires prior court authorisation, given only for expiry of the term, completion of the job or the misconduct causes of art. 160. A dismissal made unaware of the pregnancy is void and the worker is reinstated on presenting a medical certificate within 60 working days.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, Art. 174 and art. 201, 2003-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. Companies with 20 or more female workers of any age or marital status must provide a childcare room (sala cuna) where mothers can feed and leave children under two while at work, or pay the costs of an authorised childcare centre chosen by the employer, plus transport. The 20 worker count also applies across shopping, industrial or service centres run by one legal entity.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, Art. 203, 2003-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

8. Mothers of children under two have at least one hour a day to feed them, counted as worked time and not waivable, taken at any time, split in two, or by starting or ending the day earlier or later; where the employer must provide childcare the time extends to cover travel, with fares paid by the employer.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, Art. 206, 2003-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

9. Paid leave on top of annual holiday: 10 calendar days on the death of a child and 7 on the death of a spouse or civil partner (with one month of dismissal protection), 7 working days on a pregnancy loss, 4 working days on the death of a parent or sibling, and 5 consecutive working days on marriage or civil union, notified 30 days ahead. These days cannot be paid out in cash.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, Art. 66 and art. 207 bis, 2003-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

10. Medical leave for sickness of a child under one, certified by the health service, gives the mother (or the father at her choice) leave with a subsidy; the same applies to workers caring for a child under one under a court protection order.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, Art. 199, 2003-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Leave	Length	Who pays	Article
Annual holiday	15 working days (20 in the far south), plus progressive days	Employer	Art. 67 and art. 68
Prenatal maternity	6 weeks	State subsidy	Art. 195
Postnatal maternity	12 weeks (18 for premature or low weight births)	State subsidy	Art. 195 and art. 196
Postnatal parental	12 weeks full time or 18 weeks half time	State subsidy	Art. 197 bis
Paternity	5 days	Employer	Art. 195
Bereavement	4 working days to 10 calendar days	Employer	Art. 66
Marriage or civil union	5 working days	Employer	Art. 207 bis

Main paid leave entitlements (Código del Trabajo)

Worked example

A worker hired on 1 March 2025 earning CLP 1,500,000 a month resigns on 31 October 2026. They took no holiday for the year completed on 1 March 2026, so the employer pays 15 working days, plus proportional holiday for the 8 months since then (about 10 working days at 15 days a year), in the final settlement.
A tech company reaches its twentieth female employee: from then on it must offer an authorised childcare centre for children under two, typically by paying the centre directly, plus transport, and allow the daily feeding hour.

Step by step

Track holiday balances; make sure workers with two accumulated periods take at least the first before a third accrues (art. 70).
On notice of pregnancy, flag the worker as protected and do not terminate without a court order.
Register the parental leave choice when the registered letter arrives and notify the subsidy payer before it starts.
Count female headcount by legal entity; at 20, set up the childcare arrangement.
Pay accrued and proportional holiday in every final settlement.

Common traps

Paying holiday in cash instead of granting it is not allowed during employment (art. 73).
Not knowing about a pregnancy does not save a dismissal; it is void and the worker returns with back pay (art. 201).
Fixed term contracts of pregnant workers still need a court order before termination at expiry (art. 174).
Childcare cannot be replaced by a cash bonus to the worker; the law allows the employer to pay the authorised centre directly (art. 203).

Sources

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