Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

View all Q2 2017 Global Guide Quarterly updates

Modification of the Night Shift

New Legislation Enacted

On June 14, 2017, the Colombian Senate approved a change to modify the night shift to start at 09:00 p.m. (rather than 10:00 p.m.) and end at 06:00 a.m. Additionally, employers will be required to pay the night surcharge (35%) starting at 09:00 p.m. Until the modification is signed into law by the president of Colombia, the night shift will continue to be from 10:00 p.m. until 06:00 a.m.

Temporary Suspension of Key Outsourcing Provisions

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

On March 15, 2017, the State Council temporarily suspended numerals 4 and 6 of Article 1 of Decree 583 of 2016, which defined who may be deemed to be a “beneficiary” or “provider” of illegal outsourcing. In its review, the State Council concluded that the Labor Ministry exceeded its authority when it established those definitions and, therefore, cannot use those definitions to impose sanctions after an investigation into alleged illegal outsourcing.

Minimum Standards Verification Required on Health and Industrial Security System

New Regulation or Official Guidance

The Colombian Labor Ministry issued Resolution 1111 of 2017 to regulate the implementation, execution, monitoring, and minimum standards that must be included in the Health and Industrial Security System (SG-SST for its acronym in Spanish). The Resolution became effective on March 27, 2017. Employers and contractors must enter information in the system, verifying compliance with the standards of technology, science, administration, finances, and other essential aspects of the business. The SG-SST minimum standards must be implemented in the following stages: (1) initial evaluation, deadline August 2017; (2) improvement plan based on the initial evaluation, deadline December 2017; (3) execution of SG-SST with improvement plan, deadline December 2018; (4) monitoring and development plan, deadline March 2019; and (5) inspection, oversight and control, commencing in April 2019.

Changes to the Method of Reporting Social Security Contributions

New Regulation or Official Guidance

Resolution 980 of 2017, issued by Colombian Health Ministry and which became effective on April 3, 2017, established that contributions before social security entities must be performed through a virtual platform named Planilla Única de Liquidación de Aportes (PILA). When making social security contributions, medical leaves and working hours must be reported because they modify the contribution amount. This Resolution also establishes that medical leave events must be reported through PILA on the month that they were granted.

New Resolution 970 Mandates Equal Pay Regardless of Gender

New Regulation or Official Guidance

Law 1496 of 2011 prohibits any type of employment discrimination based on gender. Resolution 970 of 2017 amends the law by including aspects that should be considered by employers when evaluating salary conditions between men and women, which are as follows: (1) nature of the activity to be carried out; (2) access to training facilities; (3) conditions on admission to employment; (4) labor conditions; and (5) equal opportunities. Resolution 970, which was issued by the Colombian Labor Ministry, became effective on March 17, 2017.