Labor reform 2023: explosive changes on the table that no one can ignore

After the first version of the labor reform did not obtain legislative approval during the previous semester, the National Government presented the text again last Thursday, August 24, with the intention of modifying the labor policy in Colombia.

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From that moment on, the expectation about the content of the reform has been increasing as well as the need to understand how, in case it is approved, it could influence the labor environment of Colombians. Despite the fact that the bill consists of 92 articles, in this installment we highlight five points of great relevance that every Colombian should keep in mind.

Labor reform 2023 in five points

1. Working hours

In this regard, the reform proposes that the maximum daily working day be 8 hours. This is without prejudice to the provisions of Law 2101 of 2021, which regulates the progressive reduction of the working day in Colombia to 42 hours in 2026.

Our country’s working day, currently set at 47 hours due to the application of this law last month, is among the longest in comparison with other member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Only Mexico exceeds this length with a 48-hour workday.

2. Night shift

This point in particular has been one of the main points that has aroused great controversy in public opinion, since it implies an increase in labor costs for companies, the vast majority of which are micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

The central focus of the Ministry of Labor is that the night shift should last the same as the night in our country, which is equivalent to 12 hours. This modification obeys Law 789 approved in 2002, which established the 8-hour night shift, from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.

In 2017, the night shift lost one hour and was from 9:00 p. m. to 6:00 a.m.

The initial proposal of the labor reform sought that the night shift would start at 6:00 p.m. and end at 6:00 a.m., but this initiative changed in its path through the Congress of the Republic last semester, by proposing that the night shift would be from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.

In the current proposal, the labor reform retains this modification of the night shift, which would be reduced by two hours. Thus, those who work between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. would be paid the night surcharge for those two extra hours.

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3. Sunday and holiday surcharges

Another point of debate is the increase of the Sunday and holiday surcharge to 100% of the employee’s salary, in contrast to the current percentage of 75%. With this measure, the reform intends to guarantee that the payment of the Sunday and holiday workday is full, considering that it is work in a time of mandatory rest.

The change introduced by this version of the labor reform is the progressive implementation of the measure in three years with the purpose of allowing companies to bear the increase in their labor costs and achieve the payment of 100% of the Sunday and holiday surcharge. For this purpose, it states that progressivity is optional for each company.

In this sense, the labor reform establishes that progressivity is optional for each company. If the reform is approved as it was filed in Congress last Thursday, August 24, companies may opt for this progressivity that would begin in July 2024 with the Sunday and holiday surcharge of 80% of the worker’s salary. In July 2025 it would increase to 90%, and in 2026 it would reach 100% of the Sunday and holiday surcharge.

4. Paternity leave

Although paternity leave has undergone changes in recent years, going from 8 days to 2 weeks in 2021, it is still far from the time proposed in the labor reform of 2023. Therefore, it is foreseeable that debates will arise around this point.

According to Article 50 of the labor reform, men would be able to stay with their newborn children and the mother for longer, recognizing that caring for a baby in its early stages demands additional efforts due to its fragility.

Consequently, the reform seeks to increase paternity leave time progressively to twelve weeks in 2026. This process would begin in 2024, when it would increase to 8 weeks. In 2025 it would increase to 10 weeks and, finally, in 2026 to 12 weeks.

5. Remote work

Article 60 of the labor reform text promotes telecommuting, especially teleworking, depending on the size of the company’s plant.

If this point is approved, companies would have one semester to adapt their operation to the new law, after its entry into force. From that moment on, the law will be mandatory:

• The labor reform proposes that companies with between 20 to 50 workers in their plant, at least 5% of their payroll would have to work remotely.
• In companies with 50 to 200 workers, this percentage would have to rise to 10%.
• And in companies with 201 workers or more, 15% of the plant will have to work remotely.

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