Countries › Chile › Guide › 7. Labor and employment › Remote work and telework in Chile: agreements, contract clauses, return to the office, hours and the right to disconnect, equipment costs, safety and registration

Remote work and telework in Chile: agreements, contract clauses, return to the office, hours and the right to disconnect, equipment costs, safety and registration

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

Chile regulates remote work and telework in the Labour Code: it must be agreed in the contract or an annex, registered with the Dirección del Trabajo within 15 days, and cannot reduce pay or rights. The employer pays for equipment, tools and their running costs, trains the worker on safety before starting, and must respect at least 12 continuous hours of disconnection for workers with flexible hours. Employers must offer remote work, where the job allows, to unpaid carers of children under 14 or of dependent persons.

Key facts

Deadline to register a remote work agreement with the Dirección del Trabajo	15 daysCódigo del Trabajo art. 152 quáter O, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum continuous disconnection time in 24 hours (flexible or exempt remote workers)	12 hoursCódigo del Trabajo art. 152 quáter J, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Notice to return to the original arrangement when remote work was agreed later	30 daysCódigo del Trabajo art. 152 quáter I, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Who pays for remote work equipment and running costs	Employer textCódigo del Trabajo art. 152 quáter L, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. The parties may agree remote work or telework at the start or during employment, in the contract or an annex, without reducing rights, especially pay. Remote work is work done wholly or partly from home or places other than the employer's premises; telework is remote work done through technology or reported through it. Remote workers keep all individual and collective rights. Places designated and equipped by the employer, even off site, are not remote work.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 21.220, Art. 152 quáter G and art. 152 quáter H, 2020-03-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Besides the art. 10 contents, a remote work contract must state: that remote work or telework was agreed, whether total or partial and the mix with office work; the place or places of work, or that the worker chooses freely; the term of the arrangement, fixed or indefinite; the supervision mechanisms; whether the worker may distribute hours freely or is excluded from hour limits; and the disconnection time.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 21.220, Art. 152 quáter K, 2020-03-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. If remote work was agreed after the employment started, either party may return to the original arrangement with at least 30 days written notice. If the employment started as remote, a move to on site work requires both parties' agreement.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 21.220, Art. 152 quáter I, 2020-03-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Remote work follows the general working hours rules, and the employer must provide at its cost a reliable system to record hours where applicable. The parties may agree that the worker distributes hours freely within daily and weekly limits, or that a teleworker is excluded from hour limits under art. 22; but the worker is presumed subject to ordinary hours if the employer supervises how and when the work is done. Workers with free distribution or excluded from limits have a right to disconnect of at least 12 continuous hours in every 24, and may not receive communications or orders on rest days, leave or holiday.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 21.220, Art. 152 quáter J, 2020-03-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Equipment, tools and materials for remote work, including personal protective equipment, must be supplied by the employer, and the worker cannot be required to use their own; operating, maintenance and repair costs are always borne by the employer.
Cost to do it: Laptop, connectivity and equipment running costs per remote worker, borne by the employer.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 21.220, Art. 152 quáter L, 2020-03-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. The employer must tell the worker in writing the safety and health conditions the workstation must meet, inform them in writing of the risks and preventive measures, and train them on safety before remote work starts, directly or through its work accident insurer. It may not enter the worker's home without authorisation but may ask the insurer, with the worker's consent, to inspect the workstation. It must also tell the worker in writing whether unions exist, and of any new union within 10 days.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 21.220, Art. 152 quáter M and art. 152 quáter N, 2020-03-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. Within 15 days of agreeing remote work or telework, the employer must register the agreement electronically with the Dirección del Trabajo, which sends a copy to the social security regulator and the employer's work accident insurer.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 21.220, Art. 152 quáter O, 2020-03-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

8. The employer must offer remote work or telework for all or part of the working time, where the nature of the job allows, to workers who are unpaid carers of a child under 14 or of a person with a disability or in moderate or severe dependency, on proof of that status. This does not apply to managers and others with powers to represent the employer.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, as amended by Ley Nº 21.645, Art. 152 quáter O bis, 2023-12-29 official text · verified 2026-10-26

9. During a declared state of catastrophe or health alert for an epidemic, the employer must offer remote work without pay cuts, where the job allows, to workers caring for a preschool child or a person with a disability, and to carers of children under 12 if schools close.DFL Nº 1 of 2002, Ministerio del Trabajo, Código del Trabajo, Art. 206 bis, 2003-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Worked example

A software company lets a Santiago developer hired on site in 2025 work from home three days a week from November 2026. It signs an annex with the art. 152 quáter K clauses, registers it with the Dirección del Trabajo within 15 days, supplies a laptop and pays a monthly connectivity allowance, and its accident insurer trains the developer on workstation safety before the first remote day.
Because remote work was agreed after hiring, either side can end it with 30 days written notice. If the developer is given freely distributed hours, the company must guarantee 12 continuous hours without messages and none on weekends or holidays.

Step by step

Sign a contract clause or annex with all art. 152 quáter K items.
Register the agreement on the Dirección del Trabajo website within 15 days.
Provide equipment and cover running costs; record hours if the worker is not exempt.
Before the first remote day: written risk information and safety training, plus information on existing unions.
Set and respect disconnection rules in the policy and in collaboration tools.

Common traps

A worker hired as remote cannot be forced back to the office without their agreement (art. 152 quáter I).
Calling a teleworker exempt does not work if managers supervise when and how they work (art. 152 quáter J).
Requiring workers to use their own laptop or connection breaches art. 152 quáter L.
Unpaid carers can ask for remote work, and the employer must offer it if the job allows (art. 152 quáter O bis).

Sources

← Outsourcing and temporary staffing in Chile: subcontracting liability, compliance certificates and retention, temporary staffing agencies (EST), permitted uses, time limits and the single employer ruleWorkplace harassment and safety in Chile: the Ley Karin protocol and investigations, discrimination, the employer's safety duty, safety committees and prevention departments →