To comply with standards set by the International Labor Organization (ILO), Colombia passed a law establishing short-time work in 2021. This law had been promoted by former president Álvaro Uribe when he was a senator.

The entity had requested that when the working day is 48 hours, it will be gradually shortened.

The approved law stipulates that in Colombia the maximum duration of the ordinary working day is 42 hours and that it can be divided into five or six days per week, always guaranteeing a day of rest.

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It was also stipulated that the reduction by the employer will be implemented gradually from two years after the entry into force of the law.

In 2023 the reduction will be one hour; in 2024 another hour will be reduced and from the fourth year the reduction will be two hours per year until reaching 42.

“The shortening of the working day does not imply a reduction in salary or benefits, nor the value of the regular working hour, nor does it relieve employees of obligations,” it added.

This aims to improve both the living conditions of the employees and productivity.

“It is not to the detriment of those employers who wish to benefit from the reduction in the maximum working time proposed in advance by the regulation and it is recalled that the reduction in working time does not entail a reduction in salary,” said the Minister of Labor, Gloria Ramírez.