Countries › Chile › Guide › 7. Labor and employment › Outsourcing and temporary staffing in Chile: subcontracting liability, compliance certificates and retention, temporary staffing agencies (EST), permitted uses, time limits and the single employer rule

Outsourcing and temporary staffing in Chile: subcontracting liability, compliance certificates and retention, temporary staffing agencies (EST), permitted uses, time limits and the single employer rule

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

A company in Chile that contracts out works or services performed on its premises by the contractor's staff is jointly liable for those workers' pay, contributions and severance, but the liability drops to subsidiary if it requests compliance certificates and retains payments when the contractor cannot prove compliance. Temporary staff may only be supplied by registered temporary staffing agencies (EST) for listed reasons such as covering leave, peaks or new projects, for 90 or 180 days per user, never to replace strikers. Disguised intermediation makes the user the employer.

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

Liability of the principal for contractor workers (default)	Joint and several textCódigo del Trabajo art. 183-B, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Liability of the principal that exercises information and retention rights	Subsidiary textCódigo del Trabajo art. 183-D, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Base guarantee for a temporary staffing agency	250 UFCódigo del Trabajo art. 183-J, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum assignment for events and activity peaks	90 daysCódigo del Trabajo art. 183-O, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum assignment for new projects and start ups	180 daysCódigo del Trabajo art. 183-O, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Temporary workers may replace strikers	No booleanCódigo del Trabajo art. 183-P, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum fine for operating as an unregistered temporary staffing agency	500 UTMCódigo del Trabajo art. 183-L, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Subcontracting is work done under an employment contract with a contractor that, under an agreement, performs works or services on its own account and risk, with its own staff, for a principal company in whose premises or works they are carried out; occasional or sporadic services are excluded. If these conditions are not met, or the arrangement is mere supply of workers, the principal is deemed the employer and is fined under art. 506.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 20.123, Art. 183-A, 2006-10-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. The principal company is jointly and severally liable for the contractor's labour and social security payment obligations to the workers assigned to it, including statutory severance on termination, limited to the time those workers served the principal. Contractors are likewise liable for their subcontractors, and the principal answers for subcontractors when the contractor's liability cannot be enforced. Workers may sue all of them together. This does not apply to a fixed price building contract commissioned by an individual.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 20.123, Art. 183-B, 2006-10-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. The principal may require contractors to prove the amount and status of their labour and social security obligations through Labour Inspectorate certificates or other reliable means, and if they do not, may retain the amounts it is liable for from the contract price and pay the workers or pension institutions directly. A principal that exercises these information and retention rights is only subsidiarily liable (only if the contractor does not pay). The principal must also take the measures needed to protect the life and health of everyone working on its site, whoever employs them.
Cost to do it: The cost of collecting monthly compliance certificates from each contractor; without them the principal's liability for unpaid pay, contributions and severance is joint.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 20.123, Art. 183-C, art. 183-D and art. 183-E, 2006-10-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. A temporary staffing agency (Empresa de Servicios Transitorios, EST) must be a legal entity whose sole purpose is supplying workers to user companies for temporary tasks (plus selection and training), registered with the Dirección del Trabajo with "EST" in its name. It may not be the parent, subsidiary, affiliate or related company of its users. Before operating it must post a permanent guarantee in favour of the Dirección del Trabajo of 250 UF, increased for headcounts above 100, 150 and 200 temporary workers and adjusted every 12 months. Operating as an EST without complying is fined 80 to 500 UTM.
Cost to do it: Base guarantee of 250 UF.
Example: 250 UF is CLP 10,301,290 at the 23 October 2026 UF; the fine for unregistered operation is CLP 5,772,080 to CLP 36,075,500. / About US$10,441; fine about US$5,851 to US$36,566.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 20.123, Art. 183-F, art. 183-I, art. 183-J, art. 183-K and art. 183-L, 2006-10-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. A user may hire temporary workers through an EST only for: replacing workers on medical, maternity or holiday leave; extraordinary events such as congresses or fairs; new and specific projects such as building or expanding facilities or entering new markets; the start up period of new companies; occasional or extraordinary increases in activity; and urgent, unpostponable work such as repairs. The supply contract must be in writing, state the reason, positions, length and price, and be signed within 5 days of the worker starting (2 days if shorter than 5 days).DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 20.123, Art. 183-N and art. 183-Ñ, 2006-10-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. A supply contract covering a leave may last as long as the absence. For extraordinary events and occasional increases the worker's contract with the same user may not exceed 90 days; for new projects and start up periods, 180 days; neither is renewable, though it may be extended up to those limits if the reason persists. If the worker keeps working after the contract expires, the contract becomes indefinite with the user as employer, counting seniority from the first day.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 20.123, Art. 183-O and art. 183-T, 2006-10-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. Temporary workers may not be supplied to perform tasks with powers to represent the user (managers, agents, attorneys in fact), to replace workers on a legal strike, or to be passed to another EST. Breach, a missing written supply contract, or use for reasons other than those listed, or to disguise permanent employment, makes the worker the user's own employee, and the user is fined 10 UTM per worker for prohibited uses.
Example: 10 UTM is CLP 721,510 per worker. / About US$731 per worker.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 20.123, Art. 183-N, art. 183-P and art. 183-U, 2006-10-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

8. The user is subsidiarily liable for the EST's labour and social security obligations to the workers supplied, and directly responsible for health and safety at work, including the work accident insurance obligations and reporting accidents. The EST may not charge workers any fee for training or placement, and temporary workers who served at least 30 days in 12 months for the same EST are owed holiday compensation.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 20.123, Art. 183-S, art. 183-V and art. 183-AB, 2006-10-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

9. Two or more companies with common labour management and, for example, complementary products or a common controller are a single employer for labour and social security purposes, jointly liable, and a court can fine the use of separate entities or simulated contracting through third parties to evade obligations 20 to 300 UTM.
Example: CLP 1,443,020 to CLP 21,645,300. / About US$1,463 to US$21,940.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 20.760, Art. 3 and art. 507, 2014-07-09 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Reason	Maximum with the same user
Medical, maternity or holiday leave of a worker	Length of the absence
Extraordinary events (congresses, fairs, exhibitions)	90 days, not renewable
Occasional or extraordinary activity increases	90 days, not renewable
New and specific projects (new facilities, expansion, new markets)	180 days, not renewable
Start up period of a new company	180 days, not renewable
Urgent and unpostponable work such as repairs	Not set in art. 183-O

Permitted uses of temporary staffing agency workers and limits (Código del Trabajo art. 183-Ñ and art. 183-O)

Worked example

A copper producer contracts maintenance with a contractor whose 40 workers work at its plant. It asks every month for the contractor's Labour Inspectorate compliance certificate. One month the contractor fails to show pension payments, so the producer retains CLP 25 million from the invoice and pays the pension institutions directly; its liability for that contractor drops to subsidiary (art. 183-C and art. 183-D).
A retailer hires 30 EST workers for the Christmas peak on 75 day contracts. If it keeps them on after expiry, they become its own indefinite employees with seniority from day one (art. 183-T); using them during a strike would make them its employees and cost CLP 721,510 per worker in fines.

Step by step

Map every contractor working on your premises and require monthly compliance certificates.
Write retention and direct payment rights into contracts with contractors.
Before using an agency, check it is on the Dirección del Trabajo EST register and has posted its guarantee.
Document the legal reason, positions and length in a written supply contract within 5 days of the worker starting.
Track 90 and 180 day limits and end assignments on time.

Common traps

Not asking for compliance certificates leaves the principal jointly liable for the contractor's unpaid pay, contributions and severance (art. 183-B).
A contractor that only supplies people, under the principal's direction, is intermediation: the principal becomes the employer (art. 183-A).
An EST related to the user by ownership is prohibited (art. 183-I).
Temporary workers cannot fill management roles or replace strikers (art. 183-P).

Sources

← Unions, collective bargaining and strikes in Chile: union quorums, protected status, bargaining timeline, the negotiation floor, strike rules, replacement ban, minimum services and lockoutRemote work and telework in Chile: agreements, contract clauses, return to the office, hours and the right to disconnect, equipment costs, safety and registration →