Author: Alejandro Castellanos It would be inadvisable to reinstate employees who were dismissed for certain just causes; e.g., the employee’s preventive arrest for more than 30 days. The Labour Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice established in decision No. SL816-2022 that, if an event or circumstance should arise in which a loss of trust […]
Colombia: New Decree issued Regulating the Conditions for Employees Working Remotely
Author: Alejandro Castellanos By means of Decree 555 issued on 9 April 2022, the Ministry of Labour regulated the conditions that will apply to the labour relations between employers and workers who perform their work under the remote work modality. This Decree has established the minimum clauses that the employment contract must contain for this […]
Colombia: Congress issues new Act regulating the Right to Disconnect
The Colombian Congress recently issued Act 2191 of 2022 regulating the right to disconnect. The right to disconnect is defined in the Proposal Bill as the right for all employees to avoid any work-related contact outside their working hours, vacations or any other statutory/contractual leaves. However, there are certain employees or situations exempt from this […]
Colombia: New Law introduces Changes to Maternity Leave and Paternity Leave
Law 2114 extends paternity leave from one to two weeks. Also, parents, by mutual agreement, are able to transfer the last 6 weeks of maternity leave to the father or work half-time during the leave, for twice the amount of time. Law 2114 of 2021 introduces three main changes to both maternity and paternity leaves […]
Colombia: New Remote Work Law Issued
Law 2121 provided the main requirements for remote work as follows: The modality of remote work must be agreed upon by the parties. The contract can be carried out through existing or new technologies, and any other means that allow employees to perform their duties remotely. The modality of remote work will apply throughout the […]
Colombia: Execution of Employment Contracts by Electronic Means
Since 2018, the Colombian Ministry of Labour has contemplated the possibility for employers to use the digital signature and the electronic signature, to sign the employment contract and other documents related to the employment relationship. Decree 526 of 2021 is intended to guarantee that both the electronic and digital signature are as trustworthy as the […]
Colombia: New General Biosafety Protocols
Issued on 2 June 2021, Resolution 777 of 2021 overturned all other Resolutions that contemplated protocols that were designed by the government for specific economic and social sectors. This Resolution has therefore, unified all previous protocols in order to reactivate the economy. Furthermore, this reactivation takes the following under consideration: vaccinated population over the age […]
Colombia: New Measures to Promote Youth Employment
In order to fulfil the purposes of the Colombian National Development Plan 2018-2022, the government has promoted several legislative changes aimed at the reduction of unemployment rates among young employees (between 18 and 28 years old). In recent months the government has regulated two mechanisms as mutually exclusive (art 1.2.1.18.90, Decree 1625 of 2016, modified […]
Colombia: Reduction of the Maximum Working Time from 48 to 42 Hours Per Week
Through Law 2101 of 2021, the Colombian Congress has gradually reduced the maximum working time in the country, without affecting or changing the salary of employees in the private sector. In order to reduce the maximum working time (MWT) of employees in the private sector, Law 2101 of 2021 modified article 162 of the Colombian […]
Colombia’s Tax Authority Postpones Deadline for Implementation of Electronic Payroll System
Through Resolution N° 37, the National Directorate of Taxes and Customs (DIAN), the Colombian Tax Authority, has extended the calendar, giving two extra months in order to allow more time for the preparation work necessary for DIAN to implement the electronic payroll, according to the headcount on 1 August 2021, as follows: Group Enabling […]