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Remote work in Colombia: telework, fully remote contracts, temporary work from home and working from abroad

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

Colombia has three regimes for working away from the office: telework (Ley 1221 de 2008, now with autonomous, mobile, hybrid, transnational and temporary forms), the fully remote contract (Ley 2121 de 2021, where the whole relationship runs online) and exceptional work from home (Ley 2088 de 2021, up to three months extendable). In all of them the employer supplies and maintains equipment and bears connection and energy costs, and teleworkers earning under two minimum wages get a connectivity allowance of COP 249,095 instead of the transport allowance. Transnational teleworkers hired in Colombia stay under Colombian law, and the employer must insure their health care abroad.

USD figures use the TRM (tasa representativa del mercado) of COP 3,158.43 per US dollar, valid 24 to 26 October 2026, from the official TRM series published by the Superintendencia Financiera on the national open data portal (datos.gov.co). Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Monthly connectivity allowance for teleworkers under two minimum wages, 2026	249095 COPLey 1221 de 2008 art. 6A (Ley 2466 de 2025 art. 53); Decreto 1470 de 2025, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Law governing transnational telework contracts entered in Colombia	Colombian Ley 1221 de 2008 art. 6 num. 13 (Ley 2466 de 2025 art. 54), as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Initial maximum period of exceptional work from home	3 monthsLey 2088 de 2021 art. 7, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Written right to disconnect policy required	yes Ley 2191 de 2022 art. 5, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Telework is a form of dependent employment using information and communication technologies, without the worker's physical presence at a specific workplace. It may be autonomous (from home or another place, attending the office only occasionally), mobile (no fixed workplace), hybrid (at least two or three days a week at home and the rest at the employer's premises), transnational (from another country under an employment relationship entered in Colombia) or temporary (emergencies and natural disasters).Ley 1221 de 2008, as amended by Ley 2466 de 2025, Art. 2 (Ley 2466 art. 52), 2025-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley 2466 de 2025 art. 52 replaced the telework definitions, adding the hybrid, transnational and temporary forms.

2. Transnational telework contracts entered in Colombia are governed by Colombian law. The teleworker must keep a regular migration status where applicable; the employer must hold insurance covering at least health care in case of accident or illness abroad and pays economic benefits through the Colombian social security system. Occupational risk insurers (ARL) must cover work accidents and illness in the country where the service is performed, and the employer may buy additional insurance abroad at its cost.Ley 1221 de 2008, as amended by Ley 2466 de 2025, Art. 2 num. 1 lit. d (Ley 2466 art. 52) and art. 6 num. 13 and 14 (Ley 2466 art. 54), 2025-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Teleworkers earning less than two minimum wages receive a connectivity allowance equal to the transport allowance (COP 249,095 a month in 2026) in its place, never both. It is not salary but counts in the base for benefits for workers earning up to two minimum wages.
Cost to do it: COP 249,095 a month (US$78.87) per eligible teleworker.Ley 1221 de 2008, as added by Ley 2466 de 2025, Art. 6A (Ley 2466 art. 53), 2025-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. A teleworker's salary may not be lower than that paid for the same work in the same locality to on site staff. Employers must provide and maintain equipment, connections, programs, the cost of energy and travel they order, and must give teleworkers training on technology tools, time management and remote communication. Employers must report teleworkers to the labor inspector of the municipality.Ley 1221 de 2008, as amended by Ley 2466 de 2025, Art. 6 num. 2, 7 and 15 (Ley 2466 art. 54) and art. 7, 2008-07-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Remote work under Ley 2121 de 2021 is a form of employment in which the whole relationship, from hiring to termination, is carried out remotely without physical interaction. The employer must provide tools, equipment, connection, programs, energy and internet or phone costs, and the contract must specify the working conditions, functions, days and hours, custody of equipment and IT security measures. Working time follows the Labor Code, collective agreement or contract, whichever is most favorable to the worker. The remote worker does not receive the transport allowance, except proportionally when called to the premises, which may happen only exceptionally (equipment checks, manual software installation, disciplinary hearings).Ley 2121 de 2021, Art. 3, 10, 16 and 25, 2021-08-03 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. Work from home under Ley 2088 de 2021 is an exceptional, temporary authorization for occasional, exceptional or special circumstances; it lasts up to three months, extendable once for the same period, or until the circumstances end, and the employer may end it unilaterally when they disappear. Salary and benefits continue.Ley 2088 de 2021, Art. 2, 7 and 10, 2021-05-12 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. All employers must have a right to disconnect policy with a complaints channel and procedure; management, trust and handling positions and roles requiring permanent availability are excepted.Ley 2191 de 2022, Art. 5 and 6, 2022-01-06 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Regime	Nature	Allowance	Equipment and costs	Rule
Telework (autonomous, mobile, hybrid, transnational, temporary)	Permanent arrangement within a labor contract	Connectivity allowance instead of transport allowance under two minimum wages	Employer provides and maintains; pays energy and connection	Ley 1221 art. 2, 6, 6A
Remote work	Whole relationship remote from start to end	No transport allowance unless called in	Employer provides tools, connection, energy, internet	Ley 2121 art. 3, 10, 16
Work from home	Exceptional and temporary	Salary and benefits continue	Agreed with the employer	Ley 2088 art. 2, 7, 10

Comparing remote work regimes

Worked example

A Colombian SAS lets a developer on COP 9,000,000 a month (about US$2,849.52) work from Mexico City for a year as a transnational teleworker. Colombian law continues to govern the contract, the company keeps paying Colombian social security, and it must buy insurance covering at least health care abroad; the ARL must cover accidents there. The developer must hold the right Mexican migration status. Because the salary exceeds two minimum wages, no connectivity allowance is due.
A customer service agent on COP 2,000,000 who teleworks three days a week is a hybrid teleworker and receives COP 249,095 a month as connectivity allowance instead of the transport allowance.

Step by step

1. Choose the regime (telework, remote work or work from home) and document it in the contract or an addendum.
2. Specify equipment, who pays connection and energy, days and hours and IT security rules (Ley 2121 art. 10; Ley 1221 art. 6 num. 7).
3. Report teleworkers to the labor inspector (Ley 1221 art. 7) and inform the ARL of the work location.
4. For work from abroad, buy health insurance covering the worker abroad and confirm the worker's migration status there.
5. Adopt the right to disconnect policy (Ley 2191 art. 5).

Common traps

Paying both allowances. A teleworker under two minimum wages receives the connectivity allowance instead of transport, never both (Ley 1221 art. 6A).
Assuming a worker abroad leaves the Colombian system. Under transnational telework the contract stays Colombian and contributions continue; foreign tax and social security exposure must be checked separately.
Calling people back to the office under a remote contract. Remote workers can be required on site only in the exceptional cases of Ley 2121 art. 16; otherwise the form of work changes.
Unreimbursed home costs. Energy and internet are employer costs in telework and remote work (Ley 1221 art. 6 num. 7; Ley 2121 art. 10).

Sources

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