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Employing in Colombia
Statutory benefits & general provisions
Salary
In Colombia, there’s a legal requirement to pay out month 13. 15 days is paid out in June, and 15 days is paid out in December.
Please be mindful of this when negotiating terms with new candidates. Clients can determine that the salary on offer includes these statutory payments, which will be reflected in the contract of employment. However, this should be made known to your candidate in the pre- hiring stage.
We invoice for these additional salaries monthly and funds are accrued to be paid out at the appropriate time.
Salary pay date & currency
Salary is paid on the last working day of the month and is paid in local currency (Colombian Pesos — COP).
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Jump to:
Working in Colombia
Statutory benefits & general provisions
Salary
In Colombia, there’s a legal requirement to pay out month 13. 15 days is paid out in June, and 15 days is paid out in December.
Please be mindful of this when negotiating terms with new candidates. Clients can determine that the salary on offer includes these statutory payments, which will be reflected in the contract of employment. However, this should be made known to your candidate in the pre- hiring stage.
We invoice for these additional salaries monthly and funds are accrued to be paid out at the appropriate time.
Salary pay date & currency
Salary is paid on the last working day of the month and is paid in local currency (Colombian Pesos — COP).
Employer costs
As a guide, the following employer costs are payable in Colombia; however, this is subject to variation depending on the salary and job risk.
Pension fund: 12%
Medical plan: 8.5%
Labour risks: 0.5%
Family compensation funds: 4%
Employee contributions equate to 4% (pension fund) and 4% (medical plan).
Working hours
In Colombia, it’s customary to have a 48-hour work week distributed over six days (eight hours per day).
Overtime
It should be noted that an employee may not be required to work more than two hours per day as overtime, or more than 12 hours in a given week.
The ordinary working day is from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm. Overtime during the day is paid at a rate of 25% on top of the ordinary hourly rate. The working night is from 9:00 pm to 6:00 am; workers who ordinarily work during these hours must be paid 35% on top of the ordinary hourly rate.
Overtime pay for night work is equivalent to 75% on top of the ordinary hourly rate.
Employees who perform functions of direction, trust or management — as well as employees who are engaged in intermittent activities or in activities of simple vigilance, such as security guards — are excluded from the above rules regarding the maximum work day and overtime, provided they stay at the workplace.
Probationary period
The maximum period allowed is two months. Extensions are not permissible under Colombian law.
Sickness
If an employee cannot work due to illness or an accident, a medical authorisation from a Colombian social security entity must be obtained in order for the employee to get paid for the days they could not attend work. The employer pays sick leave during the employee’s absence (for an indefinite period). However, the employer can claim the payment back from the social security system from the third day of sick leave.
Termination
Grounds for termination in Colombian legislation can be divided into three categories:
- Legal grounds
- Termination with a fair cause
- Termination without a fair cause (one month’s extra severance payment)
In Colombia, employment contracts may be terminated by any of the parties at any moment with immediate effect and without it being necessary to mention the reasons that led to the termination, unless a fair cause is alleged for the dismissal. Period of notice is only needed for fixed-term contracts when ended by the expiration date.
In the case that the employee opts to terminate their employment contract, alleging a breach by the employer (fair cause), the Labour Code mandates the obligation to pay a severance payment as if the contract were terminated without a fair cause.
Holiday entitlement
Employees are entitled to a minimum of 15 days of holiday per year.
These days accrue and are usually taken after the first year; however, it’s possible to allow employees to use their accrued days at the rate of 1.25 per month prior to that.
Statutory/public holidays in Colombia
| 1 January | Año Nuevo | New Year’s Day |
| 6 January | Día de los Reyes Magos | Epiphany |
| 23 March | Día de San José | St Joseph’s Day |
| 9 April | Jueves Santo | Maundy Thursday |
| 10 April | Viernes Santo | Good Friday |
| 1 May | Día del Trabajo | Labour Day |
| 25 May | Día de la Ascensión | Ascension Day |
| 15 June | Corpus Christi | Corpus Christi |
| 22 June | Sagrado Corazón | Sacred Heart Day |
| 29 June | San Pedro y San Pablo | Feast of St Peter and St Paul |
| 20 July | Día de la Independencia | Independence Day |
| 7 August | Batalla de Boyacá | Battle of Boyaca Day |
| 17 August | Día de la Asunción | Assumption Day |
| 12 October | Celebración del Día de la Raza | Colombus Day |
| 2 November | Día de todos los Santos | All Saint’s Day |
| 16 November | Independencia de Cartagena | Independence of Cartegena |
| 8 December | Inmaculada Concepción | Immaculate Conception Day |
| 25 December | Navidad | Christmas Day |
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