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Payroll and Benefits Guide Colombia

Last updated: May 03, 2023

Currency
Colombian Peso (COP)
Employer Taxes
21.02% – 27.46%
Payroll Frequency
Bi-Weekly/Monthly
Employee Costs
12.00%
Capital
Bogota
Date Format
dd/mm/yyyy
Fiscal Year
1 January- 31 December

Contributions

Employer

Employer Payroll Contributions

12.00%

Pension Fund

8.50%

Medical Plan

0.52% – 6.96%

Labor Risks

4.00%

Family Compensation Funds

3.00%

Family Welfare (ICBF)

2.00%

National Apprenticeship Service (SENA) (applied only on integral salary)

21.02% – 27.46%

Total Employment Cost

* Not included in total, as only applicable to specific employee related earnings

Employee

Employee Payroll Contributions

4.00%-8.00%

Pension Fund (The maximum contribution per month is equal to 25 minimum monthly salaries (SMMLV)).

(*employees who earn more than four minimum legal monthly salaries must contribute an additional 1%, to the pension solidarity fund, created by law)

4.00%

Medical Plan

8.00%-12.00%

Total Employee Cost

Employee

Employee Income Tax

Tax Units (1 Tax Unit= 36,308 COP)

0.0%

0-1,090 Tax Units

19.0%

1,090-1,700 Tax Unit

28.0%

1,700- 4,100 Tax Units

33.0%

4,100- 8,670 Tax Units

35.0%

8,670- 18,970 Tax Units

37.0%

18,970- 31,000 Tax Units

39.0%

31,000 Tax Units +

Employer taxes

Highest
Lowest

Employee taxes

Highest
Lowest

Minimum Wage

General

The monthly minimum wage in Colombia is COP1,160,000, the transportation allowance is set at COP140,000.

MINIMUM WAGE (PER MONTH)

Highest
Lowest

Payroll

Payroll Cycle

The payroll cycle in Colombia is either bi-monthly, paid on the 15th and last day of each month, or monthly.

13th Salary

Paying a 13th-month salary is mandatory in Colombia. The employer must pay the first half within the first 15 days of June and the other half within the first 20 days of December. These will be prorated when a full year has not been worked.

Working Hours

General

By law in Colombia, the maximum number of working hours is 8-10 hours per day and 48 hours per week.

Worker’s non-working time must be respected and employers should not contact them after working hours.

With effect from summer 2023, the 48-hour work week will gradually be reduced. Colombians will work one fewer hour per week each year, which will not negatively affect their salary, benefits, or the value of the daily working hour. The initial objective of the measure is to reduce the workday to 42 working hours per week by the year 2026. It will start with one fewer hour in the first two years (2023 and 2024) and two fewer hours in the following years (2025 and 2026).

Overtime

All work above the standard weekly working hours is paid as overtime and regulated by the employment contract/collective agreements.

An employee who has to work between 22:00 and 06:00, must be paid 35.00% more than the equivalent daytime salary.
Exemptions for the receipt of overtime include employees who earn more than 10x the minimum wage or employees in trust positions.
For the remaining employees, the payment of overtime is generally based on the following:

  • Daytime overtime is paid at 125.00% of the regular pay rate, increasing to 175.00% of the standard pay rate for night-time overtime hours.
  • Sunday/extra daytime/holiday overtime work is paid at 175.00% of the regular pay for holidays and night-time work and 125.00% for overtime work during the daytime.

Working Week

Monday-Friday/Monday-Saturday

Leave

Paid Time Off

Paid leave in Colombia is outlined in the employment contract as a minimum of 15 days paid leave a year, following completion of 1-year service. This is in addition to any public holidays.

Vacation Days
Public Holidays
Highest
Lowest

Public Holidays

There are 18 public holidays. In Colombia, there are a number of public holidays that the law established that if they do not fall on a Monday they will be moved to the following Monday.

Sick Days

All employees are entitled to paid sick leave by their employer for the first two days of leave, at a rate of 100% of their regular pay rate.
Medical authorization from a Colombian social security entity must be obtained for the employee to be paid for their sick leave.
From the third day onwards, all payments are assumed by the social security system at a rate of 66.67%. Still, the law requires that the employer pays from day three until day 180, with reimbursement from the social security system. These same rules also apply to disability leave.

Maternity Leave

Employees are entitled to 18 weeks of paid maternity leave at 100.00% of the regular salary rate of pay. The employer pays this and is then fully reimbursed by social security.

Paternity Leave

Employees are entitled to eight business days of paid paternity leave of 100.00% of the regular salary rate of pay. The employer pays this and is then fully reimbursed by social security (EPS).

Parental Leave

There is no additional parental leave in Colombia.

Other Leave

In the event of the death of an immediate family member, an employee is entitled to up to five days’ leave in Colombia.
Employees are also entitled to five days’ leave in the event of their marriage.

Termination

Termination Process

The termination process is standard in Colombia and is based on labor law requirements unless an employer can provide sufficient cause for dismissal without notice (due to misconduct, etc.).
Notice of termination must be in writing and sent to the relevant governmental authorities.
The employer must make payment to leavers on their last day at work.

Notice Period

During the first five years of service, 30 days’ notice is required up to a maximum of 90 days prior notice for longer service. For obra/labor and indefinite contracts, no notice period is required, though it is common to give 15 days. During probation, 15 days’ notice is required.

Severance Pay

In Colombia, severance pay is mandatory if applicable and determined by the employee’s length of service and the rate of earnings.
If the employee earns less than 10x the minimum monthly wage, the severance payment entitlement is 30 days for the first year of employment, plus 20 days for each additional year of service.
If the employee earns more than 10x the minimum monthly wage, the severance payment entitlement is 20 days for the first year of employment, plus 15 days for each additional year of service.

Probation Period

The probation period in Colombia is optional. It is recommended to set a probation period of 1/5 of the contract duration up to 2 months. For permanent employees, it is generally two months.

Common Benefits

General

Internet allowance, mobile phone allowance, meals vouchers/allowance and fitness/wellness allowance.

VISA

VISA

Any foreigners coming to work in Colombia will need to have a job offer from a local employer before applying for a visa. There are several visa types, but the most commonly used is the M visa which is valid for five years. These visas are issued in person at the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores’ offices in Bogota.
Every foreigner with a visa valid for more than three months needs to apply and obtain a foreigner’s identity card at a regional office. This must be obtained within 15 days of entering Colombia or 15 days after the visa was issued.
Once five years have been completed, foreign nationals can apply for an R visa; then, once an individual has held an R visa for five more years, they can become a Colombian citizen.

Remote Working

General

Work From Home

Employers are required to respond within 5 days to employees’ written working from home requests. Employees may carry out their work overseas if permission is given by their employer. Teleworkers’ employment agreements must include a description and any restrictions and responsibilities regarding equipment and software, the mode of teleworking, the required working hours, the location of teleworking, reimbursement of expenses, ergonomics and technology, among others.
It is possible for the employer and the teleworkers to expressly agree in the employment contracts or amendments on the reversibility of teleworking at any moment.

Employers are required to reimburse employees for teleworking-related expenses which are not normally incurred by employees. Employers and employees may agree a monthly allowance to compensate internet, telephone, and energy costs.

Employers should perform medical examinations for their remote employees when they are hired and on a periodic basis. Remote workers who are caring for minors under age 14, individuals with disabilities or adults over age 60 are allowed to organize their work schedule around their caregiver duty.

All workers have the right to disconnect and avoid any work-related contact outside their working hours and statutory or contractual leaves.

Remote Work

Remote work can be agreed upon voluntarily by the employer and employee, whereby an employee may conduct their services from any place within the country. The entire labor relationship, from its beginning to its termination, may be conducted without any face-to-face meetings at a designated workplace.

All workers have the right to disconnect and avoid any work-related contact outside their working hours and statutory or contractual leaves.

VAT

General

The standard rate of VAT in Colombia is 19.00%.

Stay up to date on payroll & employment law changes

Version History

August 16, 2022
Employer and employee payroll taxes have been updated.
January 1, 2021
Minimum wage: Increase to 908,526 COP and
February 27, 2022
The monthly minimum wage in Colombia is now 1,000,000.00 COP.
More

Questions & Answers

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CJ Alves
CJ Alves
2 years ago

What constitutes as night and daytime hours for the sake of calculating overtime pay? 

Emily Kuhnert
Emily Kuhnert
2 years ago
Reply to  CJ Alves

Daytime hours are considered from 6 am to 9 pm and nighttime hours are considered 9 pm to 6 am.

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Payroll and Benefits Guide
in Colombia

What’s covered in this guide:

  • Employer/employee contributions
  • Minimum wage
  • Working hours
  • Visa requirements

And more...

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All questions are answered by our in-house compliance department working in conjunction with our local in-country partner for this specific country

Public Holidays Calendar

Colombia 2023
Download:
CSV
PDF
ICS
Day Date Holiday Notes
Sunday Jan-1 New Year’s Day
Monday Jan-9 Three Kings Day
Monday Mar-20 St. Joseph’s Day
Thursday Apr-6 Holy Thursday
Friday Apr-7 Good Friday
Monday May-1 Labor Day
Monday May-22 Ascension Day
Monday Jun-12 Corpus Christi
Monday Jun-19 Sacred Heart
Monday Jul-3 San Pedro y San Pablo
Thursday Jul-20 Independence Day
Monday Aug-7 Battle of Boyaca
Monday Aug-21 Assumption Day
Monday Oct-16 Columbus Day Celebration
Monday Nov-6 All Saints’ Day
Thursday Feb-23 Independence of Cartagena
Friday Dec-8 Immaculate Conception
Monday Dec-25 Christmas