Recruitable helps U.S. companies hire in Colombia through our International Talent Acquisition and Employer of Record (EOR) solutions—managing the outsourcing compliance, payroll, contracts, and local regulations so you don’t have to.
Whether you’re scaling your support team or expanding your engineering squad, we’ll handle the details. You get the talent—without the risk.
Why hire talent in Colombia?
In 2019, Colombia ranked as the third-largest workforce in Latin America
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Official Name: Republic of Colombia
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Location: South America
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Capital City: Bogota
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Currency: Colombian Peso (COP)
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Official Language: Spanish
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Population: Over 50 million people
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Main Cities: Bogota, Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena, and Medellin
Skilled, Educated Workforce
Colombian professionals are known for their strong work ethic, adaptability, and technical expertise. With a growing number of graduates in engineering, IT, marketing, and finance, the country offers a diverse and competitive talent pool.
Home to two of the best universities on the continent: Universidad Nacional de Colombia and Universidad de Los Andes.
English Proficiency
Many professionals especially among younger professionals in urban areas are fluent in English and other languages, facilitating communication and collaboration.
Remote Ready
Remote work is not new here. Many professionals are already set up to work from home, bringing tech-savvy, productivity, and a strong sense of responsibility to distributed teams.
U.S. Friendly Time Zone
With its geographic location, Colombia serves as an ideal hub as it aligns considerably with the time zones of the United States and Canada, providing favorable conditions for real-time collaboration.
Cost-Effective Talent
You can build high-performing teams while significantly reducing overhead. Colombia offers one of the best cost-to-talent ratios in Latin America, giving you the flexibility to reinvest in growth.
Employment Laws at a Glance
Salary
There are two types of salaries in Colombia:
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Ordinary Salary: Salary is paid separately from statutory benefits contributions. The employer must offer certain legally defined fringe benefits; that include transportation expenses, holidays and a 13th-month salary (‘prima’).
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Integral Salary: All mandated benefits and contributions are integrated into a consistent monthly salary payment.
13th Month Salary
Required by Law, all employees in Colombia who are earning an shall receive an extra month’s pay each year.
This must be paid as follows: 50% before June 15th and the other 50% before December 20th .
Grounds for Termination
Either the Employer and the Employee may terminate contracts with or without cause. However, these must be clearly stated in writing and certain rules apply depending on the type of contract.
Holidays & Paid Time Off
Employees are entitled to 15 days of paid vacation after working for full consecutive year.
There are 18 national holidays recognized in Colombia:
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New Year’s Day
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Epiphany
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Saint Joseph’s Day
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Maundy Thursday
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Good Friday
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Labor Day
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Ascension Day
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Corpus Christi
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Feast of the Sacred Heart
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Feasts of Saints Peter and Paul
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Independence Day
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Battle of Boyacá Day
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Assumption of Mary
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Day of the Races
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All Saints’ Day
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Cartagena Independence Day
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Feast of the Immaculate Conception
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Christmas Day
Severamce Pay
The severance payment that a company is required to make depends on the nature of termination, the salary and type of contract.
Minimum Wage
Per the latest provisions and changes, effective January 2025, the new minimum wage is 1,423,500 COP, which is about *339 USD.
Probation Period
The maximum probationary period in Colombia is two months for indefinite-term contracts and one-fifth of the contract’s duration for fixed-term contracts.
Severance Pay Obligations
The severance payment that a company is required to make depends on the nature of termination, the salary and type of contract.
Contracts
The Colombian labor legislation acknowledges different types of employment contracts, normally these are written in Spanish as recommended by the Colombian authorities.
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Fixed-term Contract: This type of employment contract comes with a predetermined end date, which is mutually agreed upon and known to both parties. These agreements typically span from a few months to three years.
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Permanent Contract: Also known as an indefinite contract, is a type of employment contract where there is no set date for the expiration or termination of service. This type of contract comes with advantages and disadvantages for both parties. For example, an employee is less likely to choose their work schedule. For employers, this contract brings higher costs, higher severance, etc.
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Service Contract: This type of contract hinges on achieving specific results/deliverable or providing services within a defined timeframe. A service contract does not promote employment, and the contractor is reimbursed with a service charge instead of a salary.
Your Trusted Hiring Partner
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Legally hire Colombian employees and independent contractors
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Stay fully compliant with labor regulations.
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Avoid costly misclassification errors.
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Secured payroll, benefits management
You don’t need to set up a local entity or navigate complex labor laws. We do that for you.
Hire with confidence
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