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Workplace harassment and occupational safety in Colombia: harassment rules, sexual harassment duties and the SG-SST safety system

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

Every Colombian employer, and every company that hires contractors, must run an occupational safety and health management system (SG-SST) covering employees, contractors and agency workers; breaches can be fined up to 500 minimum wages (COP 875,452,500), and up to 1,000 when a worker dies. Workplace harassment is fined 2 to 10 minimum wages for both the harasser and an employer that tolerates it, and since 2024 employers must have a sexual harassment prevention policy, protect complainants for six months and publish anonymized complaint figures every six months. Since 2025 the Labor Code also requires workplaces free of violence and discrimination.

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

Maximum fine for occupational safety breaches	500 monthly minimum wagesLey 1562 de 2012 art. 13, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum fine after a fatal accident with proven breach	1000 monthly minimum wagesLey 1562 de 2012 art. 13, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum workplace harassment fine	2 monthly minimum wagesLey 1010 de 2006 art. 10, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum workplace harassment fine	10 monthly minimum wagesLey 1010 de 2006 art. 10, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Limitation period for workplace harassment actions	3 yearsLey 1010 de 2006 art. 18 (Ley 2209 de 2022), as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Protection against dismissal after a sexual harassment complaint	6 monthsLey 2365 de 2024 art. 14, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. All public and private employers, contractors of personnel under civil, commercial or administrative contracts, cooperatives and temporary service agencies must implement an occupational safety and health management system (SG-SST) covering employees, contractors, cooperative members and placed workers. It is a continuous improvement process with policy, organization, planning, application, evaluation, audit and improvement actions; its records must be kept accessible.Decreto 1072 de 2015, Art. 2.2.4.6.1, 2.2.4.6.4 and 2.2.4.6.13, 2015-05-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Breach of occupational health programs, rules and employer duties in the occupational risk system is fined up to 500 monthly minimum wages according to seriousness, with possible suspension of activities for repeat breaches. If a worker dies in an accident where breach of occupational health rules is shown, the fine is 20 to 1,000 monthly minimum wages, and repeated breaches can lead to suspension or permanent closure.
Cost to do it: Up to COP 875,452,500 (US$277,179.64); fatal accident COP 35,018,100 to COP 1,750,905,000 (US$11,087.19 to US$554,359.29) in 2026.Ley 1562 de 2012 (amending Decreto Ley 1295 de 1994 art. 91), Art. 13, 2012-07-11 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Workplace harassment (acoso laboral) is persistent and demonstrable conduct against a worker by an employer, superior, colleague or subordinate aimed at causing fear, intimidation or anguish, harming performance or inducing resignation. Proven harassment is sanctioned with a fine of 2 to 10 monthly minimum wages for the harasser and for the employer that tolerates it, and the employer that caused or tolerated it pays 50 percent of the cost of treating resulting illnesses; if it led to the worker's resignation it is treated as dismissal without just cause.
Cost to do it: COP 3,501,810 to COP 17,509,050 (US$1,108.72 to US$5,543.59) per person sanctioned.Ley 1010 de 2006, Art. 2 and 10, 2006-01-23 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Employers must prevent, investigate and sanction sexual harassment at work: adopt a prevention policy reflected in the internal work rules, contracts and protocols; guarantee victims' rights and immediate protection; tell victims they can go to the prosecutor; refer complaints when the victim asks; avoid revictimization; and publish every six months the anonymized number of complaints and sanctions, sending them to the gender violence information system (SIVIGE). If the alleged harasser is the top superior, the complaint goes to the labor inspectorate.Ley 2365 de 2024, Art. 11, 2024-06-20 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. A dismissal of a sexual harassment complainant (or witness) during the process or within six months of the complaint is presumed retaliation and treated as without just cause, and can be fined 1 to 5,000 daily minimum wages. Anyone hiring individuals under services contracts has the same duties toward them, without that implying an employment relationship.
Cost to do it: Up to 5,000 daily minimum wages, COP 291,817,500 (US$92,393.21) in 2026.Ley 2365 de 2024, Art. 12 and 14, 2024-06-20 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. Since 2025 the law guarantees work free of violence and harassment whatever the contractual situation, with prevention protocols and committees, and the Labor Code prohibits employers from discriminating against women and people with diverse gender identities, assigning pregnant workers physically risky tasks, and dismissing or pressing workers to resign for religious, political, racial or ethnic reasons or for mental health conditions; employers must also make reasonable accommodations for workers with disabilities.Ley 2466 de 2025, Art. 15 (CST art. 57 num. 13), 17 (CST art. 59) and 18, 2025-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. Actions arising from workplace harassment expire three years after the conduct occurred (six months under the original text).Ley 1010 de 2006, as amended by Ley 2209 de 2022 art. 1, Art. 18, 2022-05-23 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley 2209 de 2022 (Diario Oficial 52.043, 23 May 2022) extended the limitation period from six months to three years.

Worked example

A plant with 200 workers has a forklift accident in which a worker dies. If the Ministry of Labor proves breaches of safety rules, the fine ranges from COP 35,018,100 to COP 1,750,905,000 (about US$11,087.19 to US$554,359.29), and repeated failures to correct can lead to suspension (Ley 1562 art. 13).
An employee reports sexual harassment by a supervisor. The company must protect her, investigate under its policy and may not dismiss her for six months; a dismissal in that window is presumed retaliation (Ley 2365 art. 14).

Step by step

1. Designate a person responsible for the SG-SST, adopt the safety policy and run the annual plan with risk identification.
2. Include contractors and agency workers in the SG-SST (Decreto 1072 art. 2.2.4.6.1).
3. Adopt a workplace and sexual harassment policy, update the internal work rules and contracts, and set complaint routes (Ley 2365 art. 11).
4. Publish anonymized complaint and sanction figures every six months and send them to SIVIGE.
5. Report work accidents to the ARL and keep SG-SST records for inspection.

Common traps

Thinking SG-SST is only for large companies. It applies to every employer and to companies hiring contractors (Decreto 1072 art. 2.2.4.6.1).
Firing a complainant. Within six months it is presumed retaliation for sexual harassment complaints (Ley 2365 art. 14) and can be ineffective for workplace harassment (Ley 1010 art. 11).
Tolerating harassment. The employer that tolerates it is fined too and pays half of treatment costs (Ley 1010 art. 10).

Sources

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