📋 Tender Overview
In order to find a solution that protects labor sources in periods of crisis Senators Manuel Jose Ossandon and Carlos Montes presented a bill that seeks to freeze the employment contract creating a new temporary employment regulation.Similarly Senators Ximena Rincon Carolina Goic and Felipe Harboe presented a motion so that unemployment insurance can be used in the event of a health emergency. Both projects were referred to the Labor and Social Security Commission for study.The initiative of Senators Ossandn and Montes introduces an article to the Labor Code in order to allow the freezing of the labor contract by mutual agreement between the parties for a maximum period of 60 days up to a maximum of 60 of the liquid remuneration with a contract of at least 3 months old.The project proposes that only workers with a liquid income of less than 1200000 will be eligible and that those companies classified as micro small and medium-sized in situations of social crisis or catastrophes will be able to join.The figure of freezing the employment contract is specifically recognized in our legislation in situations such as the strike art. 355 in the student employment contract art. 40 bis E or in the preservation of the property of the employment art. 168 in the case of people who do military service but it has not been regulated in a general and systematic way by our legal system.The senators argue that due to the consequences that the Coronavirus COVID-19 will generate in the economy it seems positive to incorporate the possibility of allowing the freezing of the employment contract in order to prevent workers from being fired understanding that the economic crisis that is coming will affect many SMEs small and medium-sized companies which will not be able to continue with their functions unless they receive help and assistance so this temporary employment regulation would be very convenient.They add that the project protects the worker securing their job and in turn leveraging the employer demanding payment of the social contributions of their workers. Basically the project seeks that in the period of time that the freezing of the employment contract lasts the remuneration of the workers is paid with the unemployment insurance funds administered by the Unemployment Fund Administration Companies AFC with a maximum of 60 of the liquid remuneration and within a salary of less than 1200000 with a minimum contract of 3 months seniority.EMERGENCY INSURANCEMeanwhile Senators Rincn Goic and Harboe seek to establish a cause of unemployment insurance in the event of a health emergency.The idea they specified is to resort to unemployment insurance that is considered in the event of termination of the employment relationship adding a new reason that allows workers to use the funds in their unemployment insurance account in cases where there is an alert decree or health emergency or a catastrophe decree and that the authority decrees quarantine in one or more places in the territory of the Republic.In this way the worker can quarantine at home and in turn not lose financial support using unemployment insurance. The foregoing does not prevent the employer from agreeing telework systems with the worker in which case it is always up to the worker to make use of his unemployment insurance.In addition the senators stated that it is necessary to include independent or self-employed workers within the benefits of this law especially participating in the solidarity unemployment fund proposed by this law.
