Countries › Colombia › Guide › 7. Labor and employment › Statutory benefits in Colombia: service bonus, severance, severance interest, vacation and work clothing

Statutory benefits in Colombia: service bonus, severance, severance interest, vacation and work clothing

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

On top of salary every Colombian employee earns a service bonus of 30 days' pay a year (paid in June and December), severance of one month's pay a year deposited into a severance fund by 14 February, 12 percent annual interest on that severance paid directly to the worker, and 15 working days of paid vacation. Workers earning up to two minimum wages also get a free set of work clothes and shoes every four months, and the transport allowance counts in their benefit base. Since the 2025 reform employers may prefund severance monthly at 8.33 percent and pay the interest monthly at 1 percent, and the law lists paid leaves for calamity, medical appointments and court summons.

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

Service bonus (prima de servicios) per year	30 days of salaryCST art. 306, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Severance (auxilio de cesantía) per year of service	30 days of salaryCST art. 249, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Deadline to deposit the year's severance in the fund	14 February dateLey 50 de 1990 art. 99 num. 3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Annual interest on severance paid by employer	12 %Ley 50 de 1990 art. 99 num. 2, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Optional monthly advance severance deposit	8.33 %Ley 50 de 1990 art. 99 par. 1 (Ley 2466 de 2025 art. 64), as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Paid vacation per year of service	15 working daysCST art. 186, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Vacation days that must be taken each year	6 working daysCST art. 190, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum share of vacation payable in cash by agreement	50 %CST art. 189 (Ley 1429 de 2010 art. 20), as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Work clothing deliveries per year for workers up to two minimum wages	3 per yearCST art. 230, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Service bonus (prima de servicios): 30 days of salary a year, half paid by 30 June and half within the first 20 days of December, pro rata for the semester or time worked. It covers domestic workers, family drivers, day workers and farm workers.
Cost to do it: One month's salary a year (about 8.33 percent). For a worker on COP 2,500,000 plus transport allowance, COP 1,374,548 each June and December.
Example: COP 2,749,095 a year on a COP 2,500,000 salary plus COP 249,095 transport allowance. / About US$870.40 a year.Código Sustantivo del Trabajo, as amended by Ley 1788 de 2016, Art. 306, 2016-07-07 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Severance (auxilio de cesantía): one month's salary per year of service and pro rata. For contracts from 1 January 1991 it is settled every 31 December and must be deposited before 15 February of the next year in the severance fund the worker chooses; late deposit costs one day's salary per day of delay. Balances not deposited at termination are paid directly to the worker with interest.
Cost to do it: About 8.33 percent of salary. Late deposit penalty: one day's salary per day (COP 83,333 a day on COP 2,500,000).
Example: Deposit COP 2,749,095 by 14 February 2027 for a full 2026 on COP 2,500,000 plus transport allowance. / About US$870.40.Código Sustantivo del Trabajo; Ley 50 de 1990, CST art. 249; Ley 50 art. 99 num. 1, 3 and 4, 1990-12-28 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. The employer pays the worker interest of 12 percent a year on the severance accrued in the year, in January of the next year, or proportionally on termination.
Cost to do it: About 1 percent of annual salary.
Example: COP 329,891 on COP 2,749,095 of severance. / About US$104.45.Ley 50 de 1990; Decreto 116 de 1976, Ley 50 art. 99 num. 2; Decreto 116 art. 1, 1990-12-28 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Since 2025 the employer may contribute 8.33 percent of the monthly base (salary plus transport allowance where due) to the severance fund each month as an advance deposit; this is not a partial payment and the worker can only access it on the legal terms or at termination. The parties may also agree in writing to pay the severance interest monthly at 1 percent of that base. If the employer proves it paid severance directly to the worker, the payment discharges the obligation and no late deposit penalty applies unless the payment was not free or not used for authorized purposes; affiliation to a severance fund remains mandatory.
Example: Monthly prefunding on COP 2,749,095: COP 229,000 to the fund and COP 27,491 interest to the worker. / About US$72.50 and US$8.70 a month.Ley 50 de 1990, as added by Ley 2466 de 2025; Código Sustantivo del Trabajo, Ley 50 art. 99 par. 1 and 2 (Ley 2466 art. 64); CST art. 57 par. 4 (Ley 2466 art. 15), 2025-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley 2466 de 2025 art. 64 created the optional monthly severance deposit and monthly interest (régimen simple laboral).

5. Vacation: 15 working days of paid vacation for each year of service. The employer sets the date within the following year and must give 15 days' notice, and must keep a vacation register. At least 6 working days a year must be taken; the rest may be accumulated for up to two years, or four for technical, specialized, trust or handling staff and foreigners working away from their families' residence. Up to half may be paid in cash by written agreement at the worker's request; on termination untaken vacation is paid pro rata.
Example: 15 working days of vacation pay on COP 2,500,000 a month are worth about half a month, COP 1,250,000 a year. / About US$395.77.Código Sustantivo del Trabajo, Art. 186, 187, 189 (num. 1 as amended by Ley 1429 de 2010 art. 20) and 190, 2010-12-29 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. The transport allowance is treated as part of salary for the purpose of calculating social benefits (prestaciones sociales), so for workers earning up to two minimum wages it is added to the base of the service bonus and severance.Ley 1 de 1963, Art. 7, 1963-02-06 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. Earthquake measure: until 17 March 2027, where the employer's operation or the worker was directly affected by the 10 August 2026 earthquake, vacation may be granted or requested with one calendar day's notice instead of 15.Decreto Legislativo 1417 de 2026, Art. 44 and 48, 2026-09-17 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Decreto Legislativo 1417 de 2026 (17 September 2026, Diario Oficial 53.630) temporarily suspends the 15 day notice of CST art. 187 num. 2 for cases linked to the earthquake.

8. Work clothing (dotación): every employer with one or more permanent workers must give, free of charge every four months, a pair of shoes and a set of work clothes to each worker earning up to two minimum wages who has more than three months of service on the delivery date.
Cost to do it: Three sets a year per worker earning up to COP 3,501,810 a month.Código Sustantivo del Trabajo, as amended by Ley 11 de 1984, Art. 230 (Ley 11 de 1984 art. 7, Diario Oficial 36.517), 1984-03-05 official text · verified 2026-10-26

9. Paid leave the employer must grant includes voting, compulsory temporary public duties, a duly proven serious domestic calamity, union duties, urgent medical appointments or scheduled specialist appointments with prior certificate, compulsory school meetings as guardian, and judicial, administrative and legal summons. One paid day off each six months may be agreed for workers who commute by bicycle.Código Sustantivo del Trabajo, as amended by Ley 2466 de 2025, Art. 57 num. 6 (Ley 2466 art. 15), 2025-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley 2466 de 2025 art. 15 added the medical appointment, school meeting and summons leaves.

Benefit	Basis	COP	USD	Rule
Service bonus	30 days of salary plus transport allowance	2,749,095	870.40	CST art. 306
Severance	30 days of salary plus transport allowance	2,749,095	870.40	CST art. 249; Ley 50 art. 99
Severance interest	12 percent of severance	329,891	104.45	Ley 50 art. 99 num. 2
Vacation	15 working days of salary	1,250,000	395.77	CST art. 186
Total		7,078,081	2,241.01

Annual statutory benefits for one worker on COP 2,500,000 a month plus transport allowance, full year 2026. USD at COP 3,158.43.

Worked example

A call center employs an agent at COP 2,500,000 a month (under two minimum wages, so the COP 249,095 transport allowance is due and counts in the benefit base). Over 2026 the employer owes COP 1,374,548 of service bonus in June and again in December, deposits COP 2,749,095 of severance in the fund by 14 February 2027, pays COP 329,891 of interest to the agent in January 2027, grants 15 working days of paid vacation and delivers three sets of work clothes. Benefits total about COP 7,078,081 (US$2,241.01), about 24 percent of annual salary.

Step by step

1. Accrue 8.33 percent for the service bonus and 8.33 percent for severance each month, and 1 percent for interest.
2. Pay the first half of the service bonus by 30 June and the second within the first 20 days of December.
3. Ask each new hire to choose a severance fund; deposit the year's severance before 15 February and pay the interest to the worker in January.
4. Keep the vacation register and give 15 days' notice of vacation dates (CST art. 187).
5. Schedule work clothing deliveries (commonly April, August and December) for staff earning up to two minimum wages.
6. Consider the optional monthly severance prefunding of Ley 2466 art. 64 to smooth cash flow and reduce late deposit risk.

Common traps

Late severance deposit. Each day after 14 February costs one day's salary per worker (Ley 50 art. 99 num. 3), a penalty that compounds quickly across a payroll.
Leaving out the transport allowance. For workers up to two minimum wages it is included in the base for severance and the service bonus (Ley 1 de 1963 art. 7).
Cashing out all vacation. Only up to half may be paid in cash during employment, and at least 6 working days must be taken each year (CST art. 189 and 190).
Paying work clothing in cash. The law requires delivery in kind of shoes and clothes (CST art. 230).

Sources

← Working hours in Colombia: the 42 hour week, night work from 7 p.m., overtime caps and rest day surchargesSocial security and payroll levies in Colombia: pension, health, occupational risk, family fund, SENA and ICBF →