As the constant changes in the region can affect companies’ operations, for effective decision making, it is vital to have updated information about the employment landscape in each of the jurisdictions.
In this quick overview, the Employment & Compensation group presents the main recent regulatory developments in Latin America, highlighting critical issues to consider.

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform the workplace. Much like in countries across the globe, the benefits of new AI technology are gaining traction in Latin America. However, employers should be aware of its risks, particularly in our regions’ context

Burnout in the workplace has become more widely recognized throughout the region. While workforce transformation is not a new concept for global organizations, the pandemic has forced us to rapidly adapt our standard ways of working and how we engage with employees, to ensure employee retention and the long-term viability of the business.
Per a study recently developed by Gallup, 43% of the world’s workers are experiencing daily stress and are, therefore, at risk of developing burnout. However, it was only recently that the World Health Organization included it as an occupational disease, which means that companies must be even more prepared to address and manage burnout cases properly. Lack of policies and protocols may aggravate risks for lack of proper employee support. Furthermore, many Latin American countries have undergone complex legal changes, which in many cases resulted in new regulations to protect employees in these situations.

In this report, we take a closer look at Latin America’s I&D landscape through the eyes of our local experts. While legal frameworks aimed at addressing inequality in the workplace have been slow to evolve, organizations in LATAM are getting ahead of lawmakers, implementing more evolved I&D strategies as they seek to respond to stakeholder and shareholder demand and to attract the next generation of workers

While the pandemic has disrupted business operations across the globe, Latin America is emerging as a promising destination and many companies are setting their sights on the region. More and more, companies are keen to understand what they need to know when expanding in Latin America from an employment perspective and how obligations and risk vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

The Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations has opened a new call for companies to participate in the certification process called “Empresa Segura, Libre de Violencia y Discriminación contra la Mujer” (Safe Enterprise, Free of Violence and Discrimination Against Women). This certification recognizes companies with the best practices in terms of gender equality in employment and gives benefits in the recruitment processes with the state to companies with the best results. Companies have up to 30 March 2022 to register and participate in this new edition of the certification process.

Mainly during the pandemic, the use of technological resources for performing a job has significantly grown. As a result, the access to such resources in the context of internal investigations has become almost a must. This triggers relevant concerns from a data privacy and a labor perspective.

Supreme Decree No. 179-2021-PCM stipulates as follows: “14.7. From 10 December 2021, any person who performs on-site work must provide proof of their complete vaccination against COVID-19, vaccines administered both in Peru and abroad being valid.

Through Ministerial Resolution No. 1275-2021/MINSA, the technical document, “Guidelines for Surveillance, Prevention and Control of Workers Health” (“R.M. No. 972-2020-MINSA”) has been repealed, and the directive laying down new provisions for the surveillance, prevention and control of workers’ health is adopted.

With major vaccine developments in Latin America, including kick-offs for vaccine campaigns, employers should consider whether a vaccination policy is right for their workplace, keeping in mind that such policies implicate a broad range of employment laws and regulations, and that many of these vary from country to country.