Chile Supreme Court rules retroactive medical licenses can justify absences

The Supreme Court of Chile has ruled that retroactive medical licenses can justify work absences, overturning a previous decision by the Temuco Court of Appeals. The case involved a worker dismissed by the Municipality of Pitrufquén for unjustified absences between March 29 and April 12, 2023.

While the employer argued the absences were unjustified because the worker failed to communicate the cause beforehand, the Supreme Court's Fourth Chamber concluded that Article 160 No. 3 of the Labor Code does not require prior communication of the cause of absence. The court found that the lower court had added requirements not present in the law when evaluating the justification for the worker's absences.