How long can a restaurant shift be in Chile?

A restaurant lives on two peaks separated by a quiet afternoon, and the question of how long a shift can be decides almost everything else: how many people you need, how much overtime you pay, and whether your full-time contracts ever get filled.

What the law says

The rule is in article 28 of the Chilean Labour Code (Código del Trabajo), and it has two parts: how many days, and how many hours a day.

El máximo semanal establecido en el inciso primero del artículo 22 no podrá distribuirse en más de seis ni en menos de cinco días.

En ningún caso la jornada ordinaria podrá exceder de diez horas por día, sin perjuicio de lo dispuesto en el inciso séptimo del artículo 38.

In schedule terms:

• Ten ordinary hours a day, at most. It is a daily ceiling and it does not average out: an eleven-hour ordinary day is an infringement even if the week is under the maximum.
• The week is spread over five or six days. From 26 April 2028 it can also be spread over four, when that change from the 40-hour law takes effect.
• The weekly maximum today is 42 hours. So ten-hour days cannot be kept up all week: someone who works long days needs short ones too.
• The exception in article 38, seventh paragraph, covers exceptional schedules the Labour Director authorises by resolution. It is not something a restaurant can decide on its own.

The meal break does not count

Article 34 splits the working day in two with at least half an hour of meal break (colación) between them, and that time does not count as worked. That is why a ten-hour working day takes at least ten and a half hours on the floor.

It is the most common misreading of a schedule: a 12:00–22:30 shift spans ten and a half hours end to end, but it is ten hours of work. The detail is in the guide to meal breaks.

Overtime, on top

Overtime can be agreed above the ordinary working day, with its own limit.

En las faenas que, por su naturaleza, no perjudiquen la salud del trabajador, podrán pactarse horas extraordinarias hasta un máximo de dos por día, las que se pagarán con el recargo señalado en el artículo siguiente.

In practice the longest possible day is twelve hours of work: ten ordinary plus two overtime. But overtime can only be agreed for temporary needs, in writing and for at most three months (article 32). It is not a tool for designing everyday shifts. How it is calculated and what it costs is in the overtime guide.

One long shift against two short ones

This is the most important practical consequence. A ten-hour shift can span both peaks of the day, lunch and dinner, with the same person. If you cut shifts into blocks of five or six hours instead, you need one person for lunch and another for dinner.

Short shifts cause two problems. You need twice as many people at each peak, and someone on a 42-hour contract cannot fill their hours with one short shift a day: six five-hour days add up to 30. The contracted hours that go unused are paid anyway.

An example week

Someone on a 42-hour contract, spread over five days:

It meets all three rules: five days, no day above ten ordinary hours and the week exactly at the maximum. It covers both peaks three days a week, and on the other two days it can take lunch or dinner, wherever it is needed.

Interrupting the working day: another way to cover both peaks

Article 34 bis lets restaurant workers who serve the public, and since 2024 hotel and club workers too, agree to interrupt the working day for more than half an hour and up to four hours. It is the so-called split shift: someone works lunch, takes a long break and comes back for dinner.

It comes with strict conditions worth knowing before using it:

• The total hours worked still cannot exceed the daily and weekly limits.
• No work may be requested during the break. The fine for doing so is 60 UTM.
• Break time beyond half an hour is paid, with a minimum set by law, and the employer must pay for transport there and back.
• The agreement must be in writing, include every worker who serves the public, be sent to the Labour Directorate, and lasts up to six months, renewable.

Outside that agreement, the Labour Directorate has said that interrupting the working day beyond what is reasonable for a meal break is not allowed, even when the reason is the pace of customers.

What the law does not say

The Labour Code sets no general minimum number of hours between the end of one shift and the start of the next. Rules of that kind exist for specific sectors, such as transport, not for restaurants. What does limit the day is the ten ordinary hours, the two overtime hours and the meal break.

There is one special rule that does apply to restaurants: on the day before a rest day, work must end by 00:00. It is explained in the guide to the closing shift.

How Batuta handles it

In Batuta every shift in the catalogue has its hours and its paid hours, with the meal break already deducted, so the schedule shows working time, not end-to-end hours. When Batuta designs the catalogue it never proposes shifts of more than ten paid hours, and it prefers long shifts that span both peaks because they fill full-time contracts with fewer people. When the schedule is reviewed, each person's week is checked against their contract: hours, rest days and Sundays.