1. Brief Description of Anti-Discrimination Laws The Colombian Political Constitution recognizes the right of equal treatment and the prohibition of discrimination on basis of sex, race, national origin, language, religion or ideology. In the legal framework, Colombia has provided special protection for other groups like disabled people, unionized employees and pregnant women. 2. Extent of […]
Requirement for Foreign Employees to Work Every foreign person needs a special permit or ´VISA´ to perform his services in Colombia. The requirements for a foreign employee to perform his services in Colombia was recently changed by the 6045 Resolution of 2017. To determine which category or special permit must be requested for the potential […]
1. Minimum Requirements In Colombia, employment contracts are deemed as such if they reunite three conditions: (i) services are provided by the person directly; (ii) subordination from the employee towards the alleged employer; (iii) a payment as a retribution of the service provided. If these three conditions are met the relationship will be considered as […]
1. Does a Foreign Employer need to Establish or Work through a Local Entity to Hire an Employee? In Colombia, in application to the principle of reality over the formalities, a local entity is not needed to consider the existence of an employment contract. However, a local entity might be needed to be established in […]
1. Definition of Restrictive Covenants Provisions on restrictive covenants in Colombian labor law are scarce. The legislation only provides rules for non-compete clauses. Restrictive covenants are therefore allowed, under some general limitations. Any clause that may limit the employee’s right to work (which includes his right to access new employment) is considered ineffective and cannot […]
1. Employees’ Rights in Case of a Transfer of Undertaking In case of a transfer of undertaking, the employment contract is not terminated, suspended or modified as long as there are no substantial changes in the activities of the new employer. Therefore, the employees have the right for their contract to remain with the same […]
1. Can the employer restrict the employee’s use of Internet and social media during working hours? Yes, the employer can restrict the employee´s use of Internet and social media during workday hours. 2. Employee’s use of social media to disparage the employer or divulge confidential information Article 56 of the Colombia Labor Code establishes that […]
1. Social Security Employers and employees must make compulsory contributions to the Colombian Social Security System, which protects employees from certain social risks. The Colombian system is compound by the subsystems of healthcare, pension, labor risks and family allowance. Employer’s contributions for the social security system average thirty percent (30%) of the employee’s contributory base […]
1. Grounds for Termination In Colombia, employment contracts may be terminated by any of the parties at any moment with immediate effects (as a period of notice is only needed for fixed-term contracts when ended by the expiration date) and without it being necessary to mention the reasons that led to the termination, unless a […]
1. Brief Description of Employees’ and Employers’ Associations The possibility for employers and employees to associate through trade unions and employers’ associations is guaranteed as a constitutional right. Employers’ organizations are not very common, nor are they generally used for collective bargaining, but rather for economical and coordination purposes within an industry. Collective bargaining is […]
1. Minimum Working Conditions Employees in Colombia enjoy the rights established by the Political Constitution, the ILO conventions ratified by Colombia, the Labor Code and any other regulation that develops labor rules. As labor norms enjoy the nature of public policy, the parties cannot agree against them or for the employee to renounce a labor […]
