Before your Colombian hire
Employing in Colombia: straight answers to what foreign employers ask first
Pick a number to jump to a question. Each answer opens with the 2026 rule, then links to the longer guide that works it through.
Jump to any of the 14
1
How can a foreign firm hire in Colombia?
There are two routes. You can set up a Colombian company, normally a SAS, which then hires in its own name, or we sign as employer and handle payroll while your managers run the work day to day. The job follows the Labour Code (Código Sustantivo del Trabajo) on both routes: an indefinite-term contract by default, a gross monthly salary in pesos, enrolment with an occupational risk insurer (ARL) by the day before work begins, then health, pension and a caja de compensación familiar, all paid monthly on the PILA.
Work through a first hire →2
What does an employee in Colombia cost the employer in 2026?
Roughly a third on top of salary. A Bogotá hire on COP 8,000,000 a month costs about COP 128.8 million in 2026, once pension, ARL, the caja and the prestaciones sociales (statutory benefits: service bonus, severance savings and interest) are added.
Below 10 SMMLV (COP 17,509,050 a month), such an employer owes no employer health, SENA or ICBF; from that line all three return, 13.5 points on the whole salary. Our charge is extra and starts at USD 560 a month for each hire.
See every line of the 2026 bill →3
How quickly can a new hire start work in Colombia?
A Colombian national can start once the written contract is signed and the affiliations are done. The ARL sets the pace: its cover begins the day after enrolment, so enrolment must exist by the eve of day one. A foreign hire normally waits for the worker visa (visa M trabajador). Cancillería decides a complete, paid application within 30 calendar days, with the e-visa issued up to 10 business days after payment of the visa fee.
4
Is a Colombian company required before you hire there?
No. When we are the employer, the employment contract carries our name and we operate payroll, which means you need no SAS, no tax number (NIT) and no employer affiliations of your own. A SAS (Sociedad por Acciones Simplificada) under Ley 1258 de 2008 needs no minimum capital, yet it must register with the Cámara de Comercio, obtain a RUT from DIAN, open a bank account and join an ARL and a caja before anyone is paid. It suits firms that will invoice Colombian customers.
Weigh a SAS against us →5
Can a Colombian hire work as a contractor instead?
Only where the person truly works independently. Under CST art. 23, personal service, continued subordination and salary together make an employment contract whatever the paper says, and art. 24 presumes employment until the business proves otherwise. A real contractor works for a set price, with their own means and technical autonomy. Get the label wrong and a labour judge can award back benefits, the UGPP can add sanctions up to 200% of unpaid contributions, and Ministry of Labour fines reach 5,000 SMMLV.
Test a role against the employment elements →6
What has to be written into a Colombian job contract?
Under CST art. 39 it records the parties and their domicile, where and when it was signed, the workplace, what the job involves, the salary with how and how often it is paid, and how long it runs. An indefinite term applies unless the parties choose otherwise; fixed-term and project deals need writing, with 4 years, renewals counted, as the ceiling for a fixed term. Probation (período de prueba) needs a written clause and cannot exceed 2 months. Put IP terms on paper as well.
Read the rules on each contract type →7
How are tax and contributions collected?
Through monthly payroll. The employer deducts 4% for health and 4% for pension, plus 1% for the pension solidarity fund from 4 SMMLV, and withholds income tax (retención en la fuente), with nothing withheld on a monthly taxable base up to 95 UVT (COP 4,975,530 in 2026). Every contribution goes on one form, the PILA, on a date between the 2nd and 16th business day that depends on the employer’s NIT, and withheld tax is declared to DIAN monthly.
Follow a Colombian pay run →8
How high is Colombia’s 2026 minimum wage?
COP 1,750,905 monthly for a full-time job in 2026, 23% above 2025. Staff paid 2 SMMLV (COP 3,501,810) or less are also owed a transport allowance (auxilio de transporte) of COP 249,095 a month where public transport exists. Other cost thresholds are multiples of it, such as 10 SMMLV for employer health, SENA and ICBF. The 2027 rate is normally set in December.
9
What time off does Colombian law give staff?
Fifteen working days of paid annual leave for each year of service, with at least 6 taken every year, plus 18 public holidays in 2026. Maternity leave runs 18 weeks at the salary on which it starts, and the parents can share the last 6 weeks; paternity leave is 2 weeks within 30 days of the birth. Bereavement leave (licencia por luto) is 5 working days, and carers may ask for flexible or remote work.
10
Who pays an ill worker?
Sick pay starts on day 1, with the employer covering days 1 and 2 of a non-work illness and the health insurer (EPS) taking over on day 3. Under CST art. 227 the worker gets two-thirds of salary (66.67%) through day 90, then 50% through day 180. The EPS needs 28 days or more of contributions just before the absence. Work accidents and occupational disease are the ARL’s, paid from the day after the event.
How incapacidad is paid →11
Where do the pension and insurance payments go?
To four bodies, all paid on the monthly PILA. Pension, 16% of pay (12% employer, 4% employee), goes to Colpensiones or a private fund (AFP). Health, 12.5% (8.5% employer, 4% employee), goes to the EPS. The ARL, funded by the employer alone at 0.348% to 8.7% by risk class, covers work accidents. The caja de compensación familiar takes 4% from the employer. Below 10 SMMLV, income-tax-filing employers skip the 8.5% health share, SENA and ICBF.
Rates and bases for 2026 →12
When may a Colombian employer end a contract?
With a just cause, or by paying an indemnity. The Labour Code lists 15 just causes; those tied to performance, health or pension need at least 15 days’ notice. Ending an open-ended contract with no just cause, below 10 SMMLV, costs 30 days’ pay covering year one plus 20 more per extra year, pro rata. Dismissing a pregnant worker, certain expectant fathers or a person with a disability requires prior authorisation. A late final settlement costs a day’s salary per day of delay.
13
May staff telework, even from overseas?
Yes. Most remote hires fall under telework (teletrabajo), and the contract must state the equipment, hours, modality and security terms; the employer supplies computers and software unless both sides agree otherwise. Teleworkers under 2 SMMLV get a connectivity allowance in place of the transport allowance. Transnational telework keeps a Colombian contract for someone working from another country, if they hold the right immigration status there and the employer arranges health-care insurance.
The three remote-work regimes →14
What does EOR Colombia do for you as employer?
We act as legal employer for the hire you select. We sign the Colombian contract, enrol them with the EPS, pension fund, ARL and caja before day one, run payroll in pesos, withhold income tax, file the PILA and pay the service bonus (prima), severance savings (cesantías) and interest on their statutory dates. You select the person, set the pay and direct the daily work. Our fee is in US dollars, from USD 560 per employee per month.
Our services in full →Ready to cost a Colombian offer?
Tell us the job, its gross monthly pay and when it should begin. We return the full 2026 employer bill in pesos, the prima and cesantías dates for that hire, and our fee in US dollars, before any offer goes out.