Colombia's labour reform was built to arrive in stages. Law 2466 of 2025 was signed on 25 June 2025, with some rules taking effect almost at once and others phasing in through July 2027. In 2026 several of those changes are happening. For anyone running round-the-clock operations, phase two changes the maths on nearly every shift.

HIGHER PAY FOR SUNDAYS AND HOLIDAYS

The reform raised the premium for working on Sundays and public holidays. It was 75% before, and now climbs on a set schedule: 80% in 2025, 90% in 2026, and 100% in 2027, each step taking effect on 1 July.

NIGHT WORK NOW BEGINS AT 7:00 P.M.

The reform redefined night work as the hours from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., moving the start two hours earlier than the old 9:00 p.m. line. The night premium stays at 35%, but it now covers a wider window every evening, and the change has been in force since 25 December 2025.

The practical effect is simple. Someone working a 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. stretch is now paid the night rate for hours that used to count as ordinary daytime work. Where shift patterns are not rethought the added night-pay burden can run around 12% to 18%.

THE WORKING WEEK WILL REDUCE

From 15 July 2026, Colombia's maximum ordinary working week reduces from 44 to 42 hours, with no cut to employees' salaries. For businesses running round-the-clock operations, the same shifts will hit the overtime threshold sooner than before, which means higher overtime costs on unchanged schedules. Employers should review and adjust their staffing models before July.

CLEARER RECORDS AROUND OVERTIME

Overtime rules changed too. Employers no longer have to ask the Ministry of Labour for prior approval, which removes one administrative step. In exchange, they now have to keep a daily, detailed record for each worker showing the hours worked, whether they were daytime or nighttime, and how the pay was calculated, and to make that record available to the worker and to inspectors.

The point is to give workers a clear, checkable account of what they are owed. Failing to keep the record is a breach in itself, even when the overtime was actually paid, and an employer who does not pay overtime can lose the right to schedule it for six months.

NEW PAID LEAVE

The reform added paid leave that managers have less discretion to refuse. It covers medical appointments and specialist visits, school obligations a parent or guardian has to attend, and judicial or administrative summons, and it widened the existing leave for family emergencies.

A FORMALISED APPRENTICESHIP

Apprenticeships were turned into a fixed-term employment relationship of up to three years. The sponsoring company pays an allowance of 75% of the minimum wage during the study phase and 100% during the practical phase, and now covers social security and statutory benefits. The arrangement carries real protection and contributions now, rather than a limited training allowance.

THE COMPLIANCE SIDE IS WHERE THE RISK SITS

Employers should ensure that their internal work rules have been updated to reflect the latest legal requirements. The deadline to make some of these updates has already passed, meaning that companies that have not yet updated their internal work rules may already be non-compliant and could face scrutiny from the Ministry of Labour. Businesses that have not yet completed this review should do so as a priority.

The administrative side deserves as much attention as the headline rates. All of it, the surcharge steps by date, the new 7:00 p.m. night line, the overtime records, the leave entitlements, the apprenticeship terms, has to be set up correctly in payroll and scheduling systems built for the old rules.

A payroll system configured wrong does not make one isolated mistake. It repeats the same wrong figure across thousands of pay slips, and the error can sit there for months before an audit or a claim brings it to light. The penalty regime is strict, with fines reaching up to 5,000 monthly minimum wages in the most serious cases.

For staffing firms in Colombia's always-on industries, then, phase two is two jobs at once. One is the new cost of labour. The other is getting the systems and paperwork right, and that is the part where mistakes stay hidden longest.

‍