Due to high temperatures in Chile, the government announces measures related to the health and safety of workers

Bonfill Mir’s Labor Area partners Pablo Gutiérrez and Luis Alberto Cruchaga prepared an explanatory guide on the provisions.

Bonfill Mir, Santiago, December 15, 2023 - On December 6, the Superintendency of Social Security issued Ordinary O-02-S-01632-2023, in which it gave instructions on exposure to high temperatures in the work context.

On December 11, the Labor Directorate issued Ordinary No. 1494, which, derived from the resolution of the Superintendency of Social Security, refers to the obligations and measures to be adopted by the employer in the event of exposure of workers to high temperatures and extreme temperatures.

1. Ord. O-02-S-01632-2023

Superintendence of Social Security Intendance of Occupational Safety and Health

In the context of heat events related to high temperatures and extreme temperatures that have been predicted as a result of climate change and the phenomenon of "El Niño", SUSESO instructs that the Administrative Organizations of the Insurance against Occupational Accidents and Occupational Diseases (Mutual Insurance Companies) must provide technical assistance to Employers, which should consider the delivery of tools so that they can identify the threats present in their workplaces, whether of natural and/or human origin, and plan and implement actions to reduce the exposure of their workers to heat events due to adverse weather conditions that may occur.

The risks are defined as High Temperatures (HT) and Extreme High Temperatures (EHT).

Ordinary No. 1494 of the Labor Directorate.

This opinion reflects the decision of SUSESO on exposure to heat events due to adverse weather conditions and provides a context that allows framing within the general duty of protection of employers to their workers contained in Articles 184 bis of the Labor Code and 21 of Supreme Decree No. 40, Regulation on Risk Prevention, the effective protection of workers against events of HT and EHT.

Thus, in the event of events of this nature, which imply a serious and imminent risk to the life and health of workers, the Employer shall assume the following obligations

• a) Immediately inform all affected workers of the existence of the aforementioned risk, as well as the measures adopted to eliminate or mitigate it.
• b) Adopt measures for the immediate suspension of the affected work and the evacuation of the workers, in the event that the risk cannot be eliminated or mitigated.

In the event of an event of this nature, the worker will have the right to interrupt his or her work and, if necessary, leave the workplace when he or she considers, on reasonable grounds, that continuing with the work implies a serious and imminent risk to his or her life or health, a circumstance that must be reported to the employer as soon as possible and the employer, in turn, must inform the respective Labor Inspectorate of the suspension of work.

The serious or imminent risk referred to in the aforementioned precept may derive both from the characteristics inherent to the activity carried out by the affected workers, as well as from the occurrence of an event constituting an act of God or force majeure, a concept defined in Article 45 of the Civil Code.

In the event that the competent authority orders the evacuation of the places affected by an emergency, catastrophe or disaster, the employer must suspend work immediately and proceed with the evacuation of the workers. The resumption of work may only take place when safe and adequate conditions for the provision of services are guaranteed.



This legal alert was prepared by the Bofill Mir Abogados Labor team for general informational purposes and should not be considered legal advice.
In case of questions or comments regarding this information, please contact our team:

Pablo Gutiérrez - pgutierrez@bofillmir.cl 
Luis Alberto Cruchaga - lcruchaga@bofillmir.cl