Guide · Occupational safety and health

Internal health and safety rules: what they contain and how to publish them

Since 2025, Chile's Supreme Decree 44 (DS 44) sets the minimum content of a company's internal health and safety rules: preamble, general provisions, obligations, prohibitions and sanctions. Here is each part with its article, what the Labor Code adds and the deadlines for publishing them.

See the minimum content How to publish

Informational guide, not legal advice. Check the current regulation at Ley Chile (Chile's official law library) and consult your safety professional or your mutual insurer (mutualidad).

What it is

One set of rules, two laws that require it

Article 67 of Law 16.744, Chile's occupational accident insurance law, requires companies to keep their health and safety rules up to date and workers to follow them. DS 44 requires them of every employer.

Chile's Labor Code also requires rules of order, hygiene and safety covering working hours, pay and sanctions, from ten permanent workers up. The two can be merged into a single document.

Minimum content

What the internal health and safety rules must contain

What DS 44 requires in articles 58 to 61 and, if the rules are merged, what article 154 of the Labor Code adds.

Preamble

What it covers

Purpose and scope of the rules, citing art. 67 of Law 16.744 and art. 154 of the Labor Code

Article

Art. 58 n° 1

Medical exams

What it covers

Procedures for pre-employment, periodic occupational and end-of-exposure exams

Article

Art. 58 n° 2 a)

Accidents and illnesses

What it covers

How work accidents and occupational illnesses are reported and investigated

Article

Art. 58 n° 2 b)

Committee and prevention

What it covers

Support for the joint health and safety committee and the prevention department; responsibilities of each supervisor

Article

Art. 58 n° 2 c) and d)

PPE

What it covers

Selection, use and upkeep of personal protective equipment

Article

Art. 58 n° 2 e)

Serious and imminent danger, and emergencies

What it covers

What to do in the face of serious and imminent danger, and how the emergency plan is applied

Article

Art. 58 n° 2 f) and g)

Suggestions, complaints and recognition

What it covers

How to suggest improvements or complain about working conditions, and how outstanding suggestions are recognized

Article

Art. 58 n° 2 h) and i)

Harassment and violence

What it covers

Protocol to prevent sexual harassment, workplace harassment and violence at work, with its investigation and sanctions

Article

Art. 58 n° 2 j)

Obligations

What it covers

Those in art. 5 of DS 44 plus at least ten more: take part in prevention, look after PPE, report hazards and symptoms

Article

Art. 59

Prohibitions

What it covers

Violence or harassment, alcohol and drugs, tampering with safety devices, operating without authorization, smoking outside designated areas

Article

Art. 60

Sanctions

What it covers

Written warning or a proportional fine of up to one quarter of daily pay, appealable to the Labor Inspectorate

Article

Art. 61

Chapter	What it covers	Article
Preamble	Purpose and scope of the rules, citing art. 67 of Law 16.744 and art. 154 of the Labor Code	Art. 58 n° 1
Medical exams	Procedures for pre-employment, periodic occupational and end-of-exposure exams	Art. 58 n° 2 a)
Accidents and illnesses	How work accidents and occupational illnesses are reported and investigated	Art. 58 n° 2 b)
Committee and prevention	Support for the joint health and safety committee and the prevention department; responsibilities of each supervisor	Art. 58 n° 2 c) and d)
PPE	Selection, use and upkeep of personal protective equipment	Art. 58 n° 2 e)
Serious and imminent danger, and emergencies	What to do in the face of serious and imminent danger, and how the emergency plan is applied	Art. 58 n° 2 f) and g)
Suggestions, complaints and recognition	How to suggest improvements or complain about working conditions, and how outstanding suggestions are recognized	Art. 58 n° 2 h) and i)
Harassment and violence	Protocol to prevent sexual harassment, workplace harassment and violence at work, with its investigation and sanctions	Art. 58 n° 2 j)
Obligations	Those in art. 5 of DS 44 plus at least ten more: take part in prevention, look after PPE, report hazards and symptoms	Art. 59
Prohibitions	Violence or harassment, alcohol and drugs, tampering with safety devices, operating without authorization, smoking outside designated areas	Art. 60
Sanctions	Written warning or a proportional fine of up to one quarter of daily pay, appealable to the Labor Inspectorate	Art. 61

Publication

How to publish the internal rules, step by step

Deadlines for the consultation, posting at the worksite, handout and filing with the SEREMI de Salud and the DT. Click to move through the steps.

Step 1 · Day −30

Put it out for consultation

It is sent to the joint health and safety committee or the safety and health delegate, the unions and the workers, at least 30 days before it takes effect.

DS 44, art. 57

What the internal rules put in writing and other guides explain

PPE →The rules set how PPE is selected, used and maintained; the log records each handover.Accident investigation →The rules say how accidents are reported and investigated; the cause tree is one method for doing it.Joint health and safety committee →Reviews the rules before they take effect and takes part in the annual review.

In the app

Rules kept current and every handout logged

Safety records live in the free iGromi app, in early access: logged during the shift, signed and exported to PDF.

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Frequently asked questions

Internal health and safety rules FAQ

What are internal health and safety rules?

It is the document setting out the prevention rules a company's workers must follow: obligations, prohibitions and sanctions on occupational safety and health. It is required by article 67 of Law 16.744, Chile's workplace accident and occupational disease insurance law, and by articles 56 to 61 of DS 44, Chile's Supreme Decree 44.

Which companies must have internal health and safety rules?

Under article 56 of DS 44, every employer must establish them and keep them up to date. Separately, Chile's Labor Code requires internal rules of order, hygiene and safety from companies that normally employ ten or more permanent workers (art. 153).

Can a company have a single set of rules of order, hygiene and safety?

Yes. DS 44 allows the health and safety rules to be merged with the Labor Code rules of order, hygiene and safety, as long as the requirements of both are met (art. 56).

Do the internal rules need approval from the SEREMI or the DT?

No prior approval is required. They are filed on the websites of the regional health authority (SEREMI de Salud) and the Labor Directorate (Dirección del Trabajo), which can request changes based on the site risks and the regulations (art. 57 of DS 44).

How far in advance must the internal rules be published?

Thirty days before they take effect: they are put out for consultation with the joint committee or delegate, unions and workers (art. 57 of DS 44) and posted in at least two visible places (art. 156 of the Labor Code).

What sanctions can the internal rules include?

A warning and a fine proportional to the offense, of up to one quarter of the offender's daily pay, after a disciplinary procedure. The fine can be appealed to the Labor Inspectorate (art. 61 of DS 44 and art. 157 of the Labor Code).

How often must the internal rules be reviewed?

DS 44 requires a review at least once a year, with the participation of the risk prevention department, the joint committee or the delegate where they exist and, failing that, the workers themselves (art. 57).

Sources: DS 44 on Ley Chile (BCN) · Law 16.744, art. 67 · Labor Code, arts. 153 to 157. Reviewed on November 1, 2026.

Keep reading

Occupational health and safety guides

DS 44: the records it requiresThe hub: every preventive-management record, with its article.DS 594 summarizedWorkplace sanitary and environmental conditions, title by title, with their limits.Joint safety committeeDuties, election, job protection and the safety delegate.Risk matrixHow a risk is assessed, with worked plant examples.5-minute safety talksReady-made topics by hazard, plus the attendance record.IRL under DS 44What the occupational risk information must say and when it is delivered.Risk mapWhat the DS 44 risk map includes, with a plant example.PPE issue logWhat to record when personal protective equipment is handed out.Cause tree analysisAccident investigation step by step, with a worked example.Accident rate calculatorAccident, lost-day, frequency and severity rates with their formulas.TMERT protocolChecklist, risk levels and deadlines of the MINSAL musculoskeletal protocol.Safe work procedureWhat an SWP is, its sections and a food-plant example.

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