Easily manage employment and payroll in

Colombia
colombia flag

Make employment in Colombia easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in Colombia, all in one easy-to-use platform.

Services available in this country:
Employer of Record ProductContractor ManagementPayroll
  • Capital City

    Bogota

  • Currency

    Colombian peso ($, COP)

  • Languages

    Spanish

  • Population size

    51,049,498

Services available in this country:
Employer of Record ProductContractor ManagementPayroll
An aerial view of the city of santiago, colombia.

Facts & Stats

Colombia
  • Capital City

    Bogota

  • Currency

    Colombian peso ($, COP)

  • Languages

    Spanish

  • Population size

    5,10,49,498

  • Ease of doing business

    Easy

  • Cost of living index

    $ (131 of 139 nations)

  • Payroll frequency

    Biweekly/Monthly

  • VAT - standard rate

    19%

  • GDP - real growth rate

    3.3%

The second-most populous country in South America, Colombia is the only country on the continent with beaches on both the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Colombia is well known for its coffee and its vibrant arts scene. With many public holidays (the second-most in the world, behind only India), plentiful natural resources, and a large population, Colombia is home to expert workers in a variety of important fields.

Grow your team in Colombia with Remote

Looking to employ workers in Colombia? Companies hiring in Colombia must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually one that provides employer of record services.

Remote can employ your team in Colombia on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Colombia team. You can also pay contractors now in Colombia with Remote.

Risks of misclassification

Colombia, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in Colombia may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.

A narrow street in colombia with colorful buildings.

Employing in Colombia

Colombia has many skilled workers, most of whom primarily speak Spanish, the country’s official language. Before you recruit Colombian or expat employees, you should understand the specifics of Colombian employment and labour laws.

Employment contracts are required for both fixed-term employment and permanent employment agreements. Remote recommends employment contracts for every hire, and every contract must adhere to Colombian employment and labour laws. Usually, fixed-term contracts in Colombia cannot be for more than three years, though there is a provision to extend them to a later date. The contracts are usually drafted in Spanish.

To employ workers in Colombia, contact Remote to learn more about your options.

Minimum Wage

Colombia labour laws for two types of salaries.

  1. Integral Pay: where pay is paid separately to other benefits and entitlements

  2. Ordinary Pay: where benefits and entitlements are included in the monthly pay payments for the employee

The type of pay must be agreed to by both the employee and employer. This pay type must be outlined in the relevant Employment Agreement.

The CST (Código Sustantivo del Trabajo) specifies that an integral pay cannot be less than 10 monthly minimum wage payments, plus 30% of the benefit factor.

Effective January 2024, the new minimum wages are as follows:

  • Integral Pay: 16,900,000.00 COP

  • Ordinary Pay: 1,300,000 COP

Integral and Ordinary Salaries

Colombia labour laws for two types of salaries.

  1. Integral Salary: where salary is paid separately to other benefits and entitlements

  2. Ordinary Salary: where benefits and entitlements are included in the monthly salary payments for the employee

The type of salary must be agreed to by both the employee and employer. This salary type must be outlined in the relevant Employment Agreement.

The CST (Código Sustantivo del Trabajo) specifies that an integral salary cannot be less than 10 monthly minimum wage payments, plus 30% of the benefit factor.

That means in 2023, the benchmark for a gross integral salary in Colombia must be at least 15,080,000 Colombian pesos (COP) as the minimum monthly wage is 1,160,000 COP.

13th Month Pay

Employees in Colombia who are earning an Ordinary Salary are entitled to receive an extra month’s pay each year, calculated by dividing the gross annual salary by 12.

The payment is equally split and delivered 50% in June and 50% in December. These payments are not only customary but are required by law.

If an employee earns less than $15,080,000 COP per month, an Ordinary Salary would apply. Note that the 13th salary should not be included in the total annual gross salary.

If an employee earns a gross salary of $15,080,000 COP per month or more, an 'integral salary' is usually applied. Employees who receive an integral salary, do not receive a 13th salary payment.

Payroll Cycle

For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly instalments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.

Onboarding Time

We can help you get a new employee started in Colombia fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 5 working days.

Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.

For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.

Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.

18 Public holidays

Jan
Monday 1 January, 20241New Year's Day (Año Nuevo)
Monday 8 January, 20242Epiphany (Día de los Reyes Magos)
Mar
Monday 25 March, 20243Saint Joseph's Day (Día de San José)
Thursday 28 March, 20244Maundy Thursday (Jueves Santo)
Friday 29 March, 20245Good Friday (Viernes Santo)
May
Wednesday 1 May, 20246Labour Day (Día del Trabajador)
Monday 13 May, 20247Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ (Fiesta de la Ascensión de Jesucristo)
Jun
Monday 3 June, 20248Feast of Corpus Christi (Corpus Christi)
Monday 10 June, 20249Sacred Heart (Sagrado Corazón)
Jul
Monday 1 July, 202410Saint Peter and Saint Paul (San Pedro y san Pablo)
Saturday 20 July, 202411Declaration of Independence (Declaración de la independencia)
Aug
Wednesday 7 August, 202412Battle of Boyacá Day (Batalla del día de Boyacá)
Monday 19 August, 202413Assumption of Mary (Asunción)
Oct
Monday 14 October, 202414Columbus Day (Día de la Raza)
Nov
Monday 4 November, 202415All Saints' Day (Fiesta de Todos los Santos)
Monday 11 November, 202416Independence of Cartagena (Independencia de Cartagena)
Dec
Sunday 8 December, 202417Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Inmaculada Concepción)
Wednesday 25 December, 202418Christmas Day (Navidad)

Want to see and manage all holidays? Sign up for our free HRIS!

Effortless HR in Colombia: Take the Tour

Seamlessly Manage Your Workforce, from First Hire to Final Paycheck

Competitive benefits package in Colombia

At Remote, we’re obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practising “fair equity,” which means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive (and that will allow you to attract the best local talent).

Our benefits packages in Colombia are tailored to fulfil the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:

  • Health Insurance

  • Dental Insurance

  • Vision Insurance

  • Mental Health Support

  • Pension or 401(K)

  • Life and Disability Insurance

Fair Pricing in Colombia

Employer of Record

Hire and pay your global team

Starting at $599/month

paid annually, or $699/month paid monthly

Top features

  • Satisfaction guaranteed

  • No deposits or hidden fees

  • Zero onboarding or offboarding fees

  • Compliant equity incentives support including withholding and reporting

  • Built-in security and compliance

  • Fast onboarding (average 2-3 days)

  • Flexible, localised benefits

Contractor Management

Compliantly onboard and pay contractors

$29

per contractor/month

Top features

  • Only pay for contractors you actively work with

  • Work with contractors in 200+ countries and territories

  • Create, edit, and sign tailored, localised contracts

  • Approve contractor invoices with one click or auto-pay

  • Transparent payments with complete visibility

Payroll

Consolidate your multi-country payroll

$29

per employee/month

Top features

  • Simplify: Comprehensive platform that integrates all payroll functions

  • Support: Personalised assistance with a dedicated team and specialists

  • Accuracy: Test runs and parallel pay runs before implementation

  • Compliance: Adhere to local labour laws in every country

  • Timeliness: Accurate and on-time payroll with labour authority reporting handled

  • Experience: Seamless payroll with easy access to payslips and expenses

HRIS

Manage all of your employees in one place

Free

Top features

  • Guided onboarding and offboarding

  • Employee profile and document management

  • Time and attendance (time off and tracking)

  • Expense management and reimbursement

  • Employee self-serve on the platform and mobile app