Paid time off

Paid time off in Colombia is a statutory entitlement designed to provide workers with mandatory rest periods after sustained employment. The regulation establishes that employees who have completed one year of continuous service are entitled to a minimum of fifteen calendar days of paid annual leave. This entitlement increases for workers in hazardous occupations or those employed in roles classified as particularly demanding, where additional days may be granted. The paid time off must be taken within the calendar year following the year in which it accrued, though employers and employees may agree to defer a portion by mutual written consent.

The governing framework derives from Colombia's Labour Code (Código Sustantivo del Trabajo) and has been subject to constitutional review, most notably through Constitutional Court ruling C-035/2005, which affirmed that the primary purpose of vacation periods is to enable workers to recover from the biological and physical wear caused by continuous labor. This constitutional interpretation reinforces the mandatory nature of the entitlement and establishes rest as a fundamental worker protection.

Employers must formally communicate vacation schedules to employees and maintain accurate records of accrued and taken leave. Payment during vacation must equal the worker's ordinary wage, calculated on the basis of the average earnings from the preceding year. Upon termination of employment, any unused vacation days must be compensated in cash at the applicable rate. Payroll teams should track accrual annually, ensure compliance with scheduling requirements, and calculate final settlement payments accurately to avoid penalties and legal disputes.