How do you hire a Chilean employee in 2026?
Forget the trial month you might run elsewhere. Chile gives regular employees no statutory probation at all, so a dismissal in week two still counts as a real termination. The written contract is due within 15 days of the start date. Get the paperwork right from day one.
· Chile guide
Illustration · Santiago, Chile
The Chile hire process has five steps. Offer letter, work-authorisation check, signed written contract, social-security registrations, first payday.
Chile has no general trial period for regular employees. You cannot end the contract on a few days' notice while you decide. The written contract is due within 15 days of the start date (Código del Trabajo Art. 9).
The maximum working week is now 42 hours. It drops to 40 hours from 2028 under Ley 21.561. Paid annual leave is 15 days after one year of service.
The monthly minimum wage is CLP 539,000/month. There is no 13th-month salary in Chile. Workers instead share in company profits through the gratificación legal.
What does the end-to-end Chile hire process look like?
Five steps take you from accepted offer to first payslip. Offer letter, work-authorisation check, written contract, social-security registrations, first payday.
The written contract carries real weight here. There is no trial period for regular employees, so the contract must be signed within 15 days of the start date.
| Step | What happens | Owner | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Offer letter | Written offer with role, gross salary, start date, working hours, and any conditions such as visa status | Client / Teamed drafts | Same day after verbal accept |
| 2. Work-authorisation check | Confirm Chilean nationality or permanent residence, or verify a valid work-permit visa for foreign nationals before the start date | Teamed | Before the employee starts |
| 3. Written employment contract | Signed written contract covering all terms under the Código del Trabajo, lodged within 15 days of the start date | Teamed (legal employer) | Within 15 days of day one |
| 4. Social-security registrations | AFP pension enrolment, FONASA or ISAPRE health, unemployment insurance, and work-accident cover registered with the relevant bodies | Teamed | Days 1 to 10 |
| 5. First payday | First payslip issued; income tax withheld and social-security contributions remitted on the monthly pay cycle | Teamed | End of first payroll month |
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Issue the offer letter
Send a written offer the same day as verbal acceptance. Include role, gross salary at or above the minimum wage, start date, working location, and the maximum 42 hours week. Set expectations clearly, since there is no trial period to fall back on.
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Complete the work-authorisation check
Confirm Chilean nationality or permanent residence by collecting the cédula de identidad, or verify the work-permit visa for foreign nationals before the start date. Retain copies of all documents.
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Issue the written employment contract
The signed written contract must be lodged within 15 days of the start date for an open-ended role. Teamed's standard Chile contract covers all Código del Trabajo requirements. Clients choose commercial terms; Teamed signs as the legal employer.
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Complete social-security registrations
Register the employee for AFP pension, FONASA or ISAPRE health, unemployment insurance, and work-accident cover. Collect the RUT and bank details. This runs across the first ten days.
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Issue the first payslip and file deductions
Run the first payroll on the monthly pay cycle. Withhold income tax under the Impuesto Único de Segunda Categoría and remit social-security contributions to the relevant bodies. The employee receives their payslip and is on the payroll record.
What must a Chile offer letter include?
The offer letter sets expectations. The signed contract under the Código del Trabajo is the binding document.
Include role title, reporting line, start date, gross monthly salary, working location, the 42 hours maximum week, and any conditions such as visa status or reference checks.
Three traps to avoid in Chilean offer letters:
- Promising a trial period that does not exist. Chile has no general probation for regular employees. Wording the offer as if the first month is a no-fault trial sets a false expectation, because a dismissal in that month is still a full termination with notice and severance rules attached.
- Quoting a salary below the floor. The monthly minimum wage is CLP 539,000/month for workers aged 18 to 65. A part-time or pro-rated figure must still respect that floor on a full-time-equivalent basis.
- Describing the gratificación as a discretionary bonus. The profit-share gratificación legal is a legal entitlement, not a goodwill payment. Quote it correctly so the contract and the offer match.
Teamed's standard Chile offer letter template covers all required ground and aligns with the Código del Trabajo. Clients choose the commercial elements. Teamed holds the legal-employer position and signs the final contract.
Chile work-authorisation checks for foreign national employees
Chilean nationals and permanent residents can start work without a permit. Foreign nationals need a valid work-permit visa before their first day.
Employing a foreign national without the correct visa breaches Chile's immigration law (Ley 21.325) and exposes the employer to fines.
Chilean nationals and permanent residents
There is no separate work-authorisation check for Chilean citizens or holders of permanent residence. The employer keeps a copy of the cédula de identidad (national ID card) as a standard identity record. The RUT (the tax and ID number on that card) is collected for payroll and social-security enrolment.
Foreign nationals
Every foreign national needs the right visa before starting. The main routes are the temporary residence visa with work authorisation (visa de residencia temporal) and the subject-to-contract work visa (visa sujeta a contrato), which ties the permit to a specific employer and contract. Applications run through the Servicio Nacional de Migraciones. Processing times vary, so start early for any new hire who needs a visa.
A work-permit visa is granted against a signed employment contract, which makes the order of steps matter. The contract clause and the visa application move together. Get one wrong and the start date slips.
The Código del Trabajo governs the employment relationship in Chile, including the written-contract deadline, working-hours limits, annual leave, and notice and severance on termination. Every employer must comply with it from the first day of work.
Ongoing visa renewals
Work-permit visas are time-limited. Employers should track expiry dates and start any renewal well in advance. Teamed monitors each visa expiry and alerts the employee and client ahead of the renewal deadline so no lapse occurs.
The Chile written employment contract: what must it contain?
Chile requires a signed written contract for every employee. It is due within 15 days of the start date for an open-ended contract (Código del Trabajo Art. 9).
Fixed-term and task-based contracts have a shorter window of five days. Missing the deadline can mean the contract terms are read in the employee's favour.
What a Chile written employment contract must cover under the Código del Trabajo:
- Place and date the contract is signed
- Full names, nationality, dates of birth, and addresses of both parties
- Nature of the work and the place or city where it is performed
- Gross salary, the form of payment, and the pay period (which may not be longer than one month)
- Distribution of the working day and hours within the 42 hours maximum week
- Contract type: open-ended, fixed-term, or for a specific task
- Paid annual leave of 15 days after one completed year of service
- The gratificación legal arrangement (profit-share or the fixed Art. 50 modality)
- Any other terms the parties agree, such as benefits or allowances
Chile does not use a single codified document like the UK's Section 1 statement or Germany's Nachweisgesetz statement. The requirement is a signed written contract that contains the substantive terms above, lodged inside the legal window. Teamed's standard Chile contract satisfies all Código del Trabajo requirements. Clients choose the commercial terms. Teamed signs as the legal employer.
Key source: Código del Trabajo (DFL 1/2003) via the Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional.
Onboarding admin in the first week
Days 1 to 10 cover contract signing, AFP pension enrolment, health-fund choice, unemployment insurance, and work-accident cover.
Teamed handles the statutory registrations. The client handles the operational side, like equipment and the first-week plan.
| Onboarding task | Who does it | Day |
|---|---|---|
| Written employment contract signed and lodged | Employee and Teamed | Day 1 to 15 |
| Work-authorisation check completed | Teamed | Day 0 (before start for foreign nationals) |
| RUT and cédula de identidad collected | Employee submits to Teamed | Day 1 |
| AFP pension fund enrolment | Teamed | Days 1 to 10 |
| FONASA or ISAPRE health-fund registration | Employee chooses, Teamed registers | Days 1 to 10 |
| Unemployment insurance (seguro de cesantía) setup | Teamed | Days 1 to 10 |
| Work-accident insurance enrolment | Teamed | Days 1 to 10 |
| Bank account details collected for payroll | Teamed | Days 1 to 10 |
| Equipment and system access | Client | Days 0 to 1 |
| Manager introduction and first-week plan | Client | Days 0 to 7 |
| 30-60-90 day plan documented | Client (manager) | Days 1 to 14 |
How does Teamed handle Chile employment for you?
Teamed becomes your legal employer of record in Chile for from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up in any currency.
The Código del Trabajo, AFP pension, FONASA or ISAPRE health, and unemployment insurance all run on one platform.
Real HR and legal experts handle your Chile hires, from the first offer letter through every monthly income-tax withholding and social-security remittance. An actual person, not a chatbot or a pooled queue. There is no setup fee and no exit fee. Employer cost passes through at cost, itemised on every invoice.
EOR payroll, contractor onboarding, and entity setup all live on one platform. EOR is the right call until it isn't. A Chile contractor who converts to direct employment keeps their record. Run the Crossover Calculator to see when your Chile headcount is ready to graduate to your own entity. Start from the Chile hiring overview; each guide here takes one layer of Chile employment law.
Key sources: Código del Trabajo, Dirección del Trabajo, and the SII Segunda Categoría tax table.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a probation period when you hire in Chile?
No. Chile has no general statutory probation period for regular employees. The only exception in the Código del Trabajo is a two-week trial for domestic workers under Art. 147. For everyone else, employment is full from day one, which means a dismissal even in the first weeks follows the standard notice and severance rules. This is why the hiring decision and the written contract both need to be right before the start date.
How quickly must the written employment contract be signed in Chile?
An open-ended employment contract must be signed and lodged within 15 days of the start date under Código del Trabajo Art. 9. For fixed-term and task-based contracts the window is shorter, at five days. If the employer misses the deadline, the law allows the employee's stated terms to be taken as the agreed terms, so timing matters.
How long is the working week in Chile in 2026?
The maximum ordinary working week is 42 hours, following the first step of Ley 21.561. It was 44 hours until April 2026 and drops again to 40 hours from April 2028. The daily cap including overtime is 10 hours, with overtime paid at an uplift of at least 50% over the ordinary hourly wage.
What is the minimum wage in Chile for 2026?
The monthly minimum wage (ingreso mínimo mensual) is CLP 539,000/month for workers aged 18 to 65, effective 1 January 2026 under Ley 21.751. Workers under 18 or over 65 have a separate floor of CLP 402,082/month. A further adjustment was pending in Congress at the time of writing, so the figure should be re-checked once any new law is enacted.
What paid leave and holiday rights does a Chile employee get?
Employees earn 15 days of paid annual leave after one completed year of service, with extra days in the far-south zones. There is no 13th-month salary in Chile. Workers instead share in company profits through the gratificación legal, which is at least 30% of net annual profit, or the fixed Art. 50 modality. Maternity rest runs 6 weeks before birth and 12 weeks after.
Companies arriving from the US or UK assume a probation month they can use to part ways quietly. Chile gives regular employees none. A dismissal in week two follows the same notice and severance rules as one in year two, so the hiring decision and the contract have to be right from the start.
Chile gives regular employees no trial period, so every hire is a real commitment from day one.
The written contract is due within fifteen days of the start date. Miss it and the terms can be read the employee's way.
The working week is now 42 hours and drops to 40 from 2028. The minimum wage sets the salary floor. Teamed tracks all of it.
