How many Sundays off does a restaurant worker get in Chile?

A restaurant opens on Sunday, and the law allows it. But in exchange it imposes a count that has to be kept person by person: how many of their rest days fall on a Sunday. It is one of the rules most often broken without meaning to, because it doesn't show in a week; it shows in the month.

Why a restaurant can open on Sunday

Article 35 of the Labour Code makes Sundays and public holidays rest days, and article 38 lists the exceptions. Restaurants fall under number 7: commercial and service establishments that serve the public directly.

The Labour Directorate has said restaurant staff fall within that exception simply by working in such an establishment, and that the benefits in this guide also reach those who don't serve the public directly, such as the kitchen. That last point is the Labour Directorate's interpretation, not the literal text of the article.

The two-Sundays rule

No obstante, en los casos a que se refieren los números 2 y 7 del inciso primero, al menos dos de los días de descanso en el respectivo mes calendario deberán necesariamente otorgarse en día domingo.

At least two of the rest days in each calendar month must fall on a Sunday. Three things are commonly misread:

• They are not extra days. They are two of the rest days the person already has. The Labour Directorate confirmed in 2025 that the rule does not add two rest days a month.
• It is counted per calendar month, not per four weeks. A month with five Sundays also requires at least two.
• It is not forfeited. If they were not given in a month, the Labour Directorate says the employer must grant them afterwards, retroactively.

Who the rule does not cover

The same provision excludes three groups:

• People hired for thirty days or less.
• People whose ordinary schedule is twenty hours a week or less.
• People hired exclusively for Saturdays, Sundays or holidays.

Seven more Sundays a year

Ley 20.823 added article 38 bis for number 7 workers, that is, restaurant workers:

…gozarán, adicionalmente a ello, de siete días domingo de descanso semanal durante cada año de vigencia del contrato de trabajo.

Like the two monthly Sundays, these are not additional days: according to the Labour Directorate, they make seven more rest days fall on a Sunday. By written agreement, up to three of them can be swapped for Saturdays next to a Sunday off. They cannot be paid out in money or carried over from one year to the next, and the same three exceptions apply.

In practice: if someone has exactly two Sundays off every month, that is 24 a year, seven short.

The restaurant alternative: 29 Sundays a year

Since 2016 the law gives restaurants, hotels, bars and similar businesses another way to comply, if both sides agree in writing:

• At least 29 Sundays off a year, or 15 in six months, instead of two each month.
• Never more than three Sundays worked in a row. In the annual agreement, once a year up to eight in a row can be agreed, or on three separate occasions, up to four.
• If the contract ends with Sundays still owed, they are paid in the final settlement with the overtime surcharge.

The agreement must be in the contract or an annex. The law does not say expressly whether the seven Sundays of article 38 bis still apply under a 29-Sunday agreement; if you use this alternative, confirm it with your adviser.

Sunday is also paid differently

For number 7 workers, ordinary hours worked on a Sunday carry a surcharge of at least 30% on the agreed salary, whatever the schedule. And Sunday hours beyond the weekly schedule are paid as overtime.

How to keep count

The only reliable way is to look at each person's whole month before publishing, not week by week:

1. Count the month's Sundays and, for each person, how many of their rest days fall on a Sunday.
2. Mark who is exempt by contract (30 days or less, 20 hours or less, weekends only) instead of assuming it from the type of schedule.
3. Keep an annual running total for the seven Sundays of article 38 bis.

How Batuta handles it

In Batuta rest rules are configured per contract type, including the minimum number of Sundays off a month. When generating the month, the engine spreads Sundays so each person meets their minimum, and when the schedule is reviewed anyone who falls short is flagged before publishing.