Fernando Arab Verdugo is a lawyer from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, with a specialty certificate in Civil Law, a Diploma in Labor Law and Social Security in the Business, and a Master’s degree in Law with a mention in Business Law from the same institution.

He has focused his professional practice on all aspects of labor, employment and social security law, including corporate labor consulting, strategic advisory in human resources and personnel matters, labor compliance, union issues and collective bargaining, labor litigation, and immigration matters, among others.

He is a member of the Chilean Bar Association, the Chilean Society of Labor Law and Social Security, and the Chilean Center for Labor Law. He was also a member of the Advisory Council for the Justice Reform Program at the PUC Law School.

Additionally, he has been a law professor for over 14 years at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. He has also taught at various institutions, including Universidad Mayor, Universidad Finis Terrae, and Universidad Pedro de Valdivia. During 2022 and 2023, he was also a faculty member at Universidad del Desarrollo.

In 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, he was recognized by Leading Lawyers Chile as an outstanding lawyer in the labor law category. In 2021, he was named the most outstanding lawyer in the public sector category by the same ranking. In both 2021 and 2022, he was recognized by the HR Influencers ranking as one of the ten most influential people in the country in human resource and personnel management.

He served as Undersecretary of Labor on two occasions, from 2013 to 2014 and from 2018 to 2022. During his last term, he played a key role in the development, discussion, approval, and subsequent implementation of various public policies and labor laws, including:
• Law No. 21.220 on telework and remote work;
• Law No. 21.165 on alternative part-time work for student workers;
• Law No. 21.327 on the modernization of the Labor Board;
• Law No. 21.361 on electronic labor documents;
• Law No. 21.227 on employment protection;
• Law No. 21.431 on regulating digital platform work, among others.

Previously, he had a distinguished career at Morales & Besa law firm, where he worked for over 12 years, becoming the partner in charge of the Labor Law Area.

He is the author of various publications and has been a speaker at numerous labor law and labor market seminars, both in Chile and abroad.