Hire and pay employees in
Colombia, hassle-free

With Deel, your business can easily hire employees in Colombia. No more worrying about local laws, complex tax systems, or managing international payroll. Deel takes care of everything in 150+ countries.

The average onboarding time frame in Colombia is 5 days with Deel.

Currency

COP

Capital

Bogotá

Official Language

Spanish

Payroll Cycle

Monthly

Onboard, pay and manage employees in Colombia with Deel.

Usually, to hire in Colombia, your business needs an entity. That means a local office, an address registered as a subsidiary, and an account with a local bank. All of this, plus navigating regional benefits, payroll, tax, and HR laws, can take months.

Deel lets you hire employees in Colombia quickly, easily, and compliantly. We even automate tax document collection, payroll, benefits, and more. For your existing direct employees, we can manage your entire payroll operation from end-to-end.

Download the Guide

All the necessary benefits for Colombia
built right in

Deel allows you to provide localized benefits for employees in Colombia within minutes. All in one manageable online dashboard.

  • Pension Fund
  • Unemployment Insurance
  • Workers Compensation Insurance
  • Private Healthcare - Unisure (optional)
  • Private Healthcare - AXA Colpatria (optional)
  • Private Healthcare - Allianz (optional)

Our quickstart guide to hiring in Colombia

Navigate the tabs below to learn everything you need to know about hiring an employee in Colombia

Minimum Wage Requirements

The minimum wage is COP 1,300,000 per month, and the minimum Integral salary is COP 16,900,000.

Individual Income Tax

The individual income tax ranges from 0% to 39%. Income tax is calculated according to progressive rates. Multiple additional factors may impact overall rates such as the household status and the number of children.

Gross Annual Income Tax Rate (%)
Up to COP 38,812,000 0%
Up to COP 60,532,000 19%
Up to COP 145,989,000 28%
Up to COP 308,713,000 33%
Up to COP 675,465,000 35%
Up to COP 1,103,817,000 37%
Over COP 1,103,817,000 39%

Payroll Cost

The calculation of employer costs for social security varies based on the type of salary the employee receives. For employees with ordinary salaries, the social security costs are calculated on 100% of the employee's salary, up to a maximum basis of COP 32,500,000 for 2024.For employees with integral salaries, social security costs are calculated on 70% of their salary, up to the same maximum basis.

Please note: EOR employees in Colombia are entitled to a minimum of 15 days of paid vacation a year. These 15 days of paid vacation are equal to 4.17% of the employee's gross annual salary. 

Monthly Costs
- Pension fund - 12%
- Labor Risk - 0.52%-6.96% based on the employee's job title and risk level
- Family fund management (CCF) - 4%
- Social Security, Public Health - 8.5%
- Family Fund "ICBF” - 3%
- Training funds "SENA” - 2%
- Law Quote 2023 "SENA" - COP 34,615
- Work From Home Allowance - USD 32

Annual and Bi-annual Costs for Employees on Ordinary Salaries
- Legal Service Bonus (13th Month Salary)* - 1 month salary
- Severance Fund Contribution (14th Month Salary) - 1 month salary
- Interest on Severance Fund Contribution - 12% of the 14th Month Salary

*Paid 50% in June and 50% in December

Conditional Costs
- Legal Connectivity Allowance - COP 140,606 prorated based on days worked, only for employees with salaries under 2 minimum legal wages

Overtime Pay & Maximum Hours

Overtime payment is mandatory for employees earning below COP 13,000,000 per month. Hours outside of standard work hours are considered overtime. For additional hours, employees are paid an additional:
- 25% of the hourly rate on a standard workweek
- 75% of the hourly rate for night shifts, Sundays, and holidays
- 150% of the hourly rate for night shifts on Sundays and holidays
Employees who are entitled to overtime pay can work a maximum of two hours of overtime per day and a maximum of 48 total hours per week.

Standard working hours are eight hours per day, 40 hours per week. The standard workweek is from Monday to Friday. As per Law 2101 of 2021, the maximum weekly working hours for employees in Colombia must be progressively reduced from 48 to 42 hours in the next few years.
This change does not affect employees’ salaries and benefits. 
The maximum weekly working hours will be reduced every year on July 15 from 2023 to 2026: 
- 2023: From 48 to 47 hours.
- 2024: From 47 to 46 hours.
- 2025: From 46 to 44 hours.
- 2026: From 44 to 42 hours. 
The reduction in the maximum weekly working hours will stop on July 15, 2026. 

Maternity Leave

Employees are entitled to 126 days of paid leave. Seven days must be taken before the child's birth. The employee will receive 100% of their average salary during this period, paid by the employer and reimbursed by Social Security.

The employee can’t extend leave.

Paternity Leave

Employees are entitled to 14 days of paid paternity leave that must be taken after the child's birth. The employee will receive 100% of the salary during this period, paid by the employer and reimbursed by Social Security.

The employee can’t extend leave.

Parental Leave

In Colombia, no law covers parental leave. However, employees may be entitled to maternity leave and paternity leave.

Sick Leave

Employees are entitled to paid sick leave for up to 540 days. This leave is paid at different rates and by different payers depending upon the length:

Period Pay Payer
0 - 2 days 66.6% of base salary Employer
3 - 90 days 66.6% of base salary Employer - refunded by Social Security
91 - 180 days 50% of the base salary Employer - refunded by Social Security
181 - 540 days 50% of the base salary Employer - refunded by Social Security

 

If the sick leave is originated by an accident at work, the employee will receive 100% of the base salary during leave and the insurer will be responsible for the payment.

Termination Requirements

Generally, there are 5 ways to terminate an employee compliantly in Colombia.

  • Termination With Cause
  • Termination for Redundancy or Other Business Reasons
  • Resignation
  • Mutual termination
  • Termination during the probation period

Notice Period

  • Termination With Cause: 10 calendar days
  • Termination for Redundancy or Other Business Reasons: 10 calendar days
  • Resignation: None
  • Mutual termination: None
  • Termination during the probation period: As stated in Employment Agreement

Severance for Employees

Termination With Cause: No legal requirements

Termination for Redundancy or Other Business Reasons:

For employees on indefinite contracts, based on years of service:
≤ 1 year of service: 30 days' pay
For each additional year of service: 20 days' pay
For employees on fixed-term contracts:
All payments owed for the rest of the contract, including monthly salary, 13th and 14th salaries and all other statutory benefits which would be owed during the term of the contract.
*Note: Additional payment may be required to secure release from potential future claims.

Resignation: No legal requirements

Mutual termination: No legal requirements. However, it is recommended to offer a severance to reduce the risk of the mutual agreement being contested in court.

Termination during probation period: No legal requirements

Paid Time Off

Both full-time and part-time employees are entitled to 15 working days of paid time off (PTO) a year. PTO accrues monthly at 1.25 days per month. Employees are eligible for annual after completing 1 year of service.

Public Holidays

Colombia celebrates 18 national holidays. National public holidays include:

  • New Year’s Day
  • Three Kings Day
  • Saint Joseph Day
  • Holy Thursday
  • Good Friday
  • Labor Day
  • Ascension Day
  • Corpus Cristi
  • Sacred Heart
  • Saint Peter and Saint Paul
  • Independence Day
  • Battle of Boyacá
  • Assumption of the Virgin Mary
  • Colombus Day
  • All Saints Day
  • Independence of Cartagena
  • Immaculate Conception Day
  • Christmas Day

Onboarding

Onboarding takes 1 business day.

Employment Contract Details

Contracts must be in Spanish and can be bilingual. They must be in writing and signed by both parties.

A contract must include:

  • name
  • start date
  • length of the employment
  • job description
  • termination conditions
  • type of contract: integral or ordinary

Probation Period

Probation periods are not mandatory. For indefinite term contracts, the maximum probation period is 60 days and for fixed-term contracts, the maximum is 1/5 of the initial term agreed, up to a maximum of 60 days.
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Hiring in Colombia, hassle-free

With Deel, your business can easily hire employees in Colombia with our EOR solution. If you have an entity, our Global Payroll solution takes care of payroll and compliance for your direct employees. Our 250+ in-house experts handle everything from managing local laws, complex tax systems, or your payroll in Colombia and 150+ countries.

Group (8)

Starting at 599 USD

Management fee

Group (9)

31-51%

Estimate Employer Cost

*of employee salary

Want to learn the cost of hiring an employee in Colombia?

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