Protecting Platform Workers' Health And Safety In Chile And Beyond

28 April 2022 is the International Labour Organization World Day for Safety and Health at Work. On it, Ius Laboris lawyers explore whether and how health and safety rules in their jurisdictions have adapted to the rise of gig economy workers, in the light of a new law in Chile introducing health and safety duties on digital platform employers.

On 8 March 2022, the Chilean Congress enacted a law regulating digital platforms employees' employment contracts (Law N°21.431, the 'Law'), regulating digital platforms employees' employment contracts. This new Law, which will enter into force on 1 September 2022, tries to regulate the widespread phenomenon that new business models created by digital platforms have brought to the labour market and employment relations systems. Here we highlight one of the main issues with these modern work systems the new Law seeks to resolve: employees' health and safety rights.