Currency: Colombian Peso (COP)

Capital: Bogota

Official language: Spanish

Payroll Cycle: Monthly

Paid Time Off

In Colombia, employees are entitled to 15 business days of paid leave per year of service. Employees must take at least six continuous business days of vacations each year. The rest may be accrued or compensated in payment.

Time off can be compensated under 2 scenarios: a) when the contract is terminated; or b) when the employee requests payment in lieu of no more than half of the accrued vacations.

Public Holidays

• New Year’s Day
• Three Kings Day
• Saint Joseph Day
• Holy Thursday
• Holy Friday
• Easter
• Labor Day
• Ascension Day
• Sacred Heart of Jesus
• Corpus Christi
• San Pedro and San Pablo
• Independence Day
• Battle of Boyaca
• Assumption of the Virgin Mary
• Colombus Day
• All Saints Day
• Day of the Imma

Additional regional holidays may also apply.

Individual Income Tax

The individual income tax depends on many variables, such as marital status, level of income, etc. The average ranges up to 39%

Employer Cost

Approximately, 30.5% - 52% of employee salary

Employment Contract Details

Written employment agreements are only mandatory for fixed-term agreements, but are generally recommended regardless of the type of employment agreement. It’s not mandatory but recommended to have the contract in Spanish or at least in 2 languages

Probation Period

It's not mandatory, employers and employees may have a trial period at the start of employment contracts when the agreement can be unilaterally terminated at any time without prior notice, and without the payment of any indemnification.

For indefinite term contracts, the probationary period can be up to two months. For fixed term agreements it cannot be longer than 1/5 of the initial term agreed, up to a maximum period of two months. The probationary period must be agreed in writing.

Minimum Wage Requirements

The Minimum Wage in Colombia is COP 908,526 per month. It is increased annually using the IPC (Consumer Price Index) as a reference.

Maximum working hours and overtime

The ordinary work week in Colombia consists of a maximum 48 working hours, with a daily maximum of 8 working hours plus 1 hour for lunch. Hours worked in addition to normal workday are compensated as overtime, which may not exceed 2 hours per day and 12 hours per week.

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 provided they stay at the workplace are excluded from the above rules regarding the maximum work day and overtime.

Bonus and expense payments

In Colombia, there is a statutory requirement, as part of the mandatory benefits, to pay a 13th salary bonus a year, 50% is paid in June, and the other 50% in December.

Expense payments will depend on the internal policies of the Company and in any case this type of payments would be considered as a non-salary payment as per Colombian labor laws.

Parental Leave

• Maternity leave: paid leave for every expectant or adoptive employee in Colombia is granted for 18 weeks. They are entitled to 1 week before childbirth and 17 weeks after. For medical reasons they can have 2 weeks before childbirth or can have the 2 weeks before childbirth postpartum, which means that the maternity leave will last 18 weeks after the childbirth. Adoptive parents are in charge of the new-born in cases of sickness or death of the mother are also entitled to maternity leave.
• Paternity leave: Employees are given 8 business days of paid  leave when their spouse or significant other gives birth or adopts a child.
• Maternity and paternity leaves are paid by the employer directly (100% of the average salaries) and reimbursed by the social security system.

Contracts may be terminated by mutual agreement or unilaterally with cause or without cause. An employer may terminate their employment relationship with an employee without incurring liability if any of the justified causes established by law exist, which are mostly based on misconduct or poor performance. A disciplinary process must be conducted before any termination with cause. Terminations without cause are also valid, but will trigger severance obligations. In a dismissal without cause no notice is required, but the employee will be entitled to compensation (indemnification) for unilateral termination as set out below.

Severance payment depends on the employee’s level of income and length of the labor relationship - from 15 to 45 days.