Colombia Working Hours 2026: What Changes in Your Payroll with the 42-Hour Work Week

Last updated: July 2026 | Nexo Legal Labor Team

As of July 15, 2026, the standard work week in Colombia dropped from 44 to 42 hours, the final step of Law 2101 of 2021. The monthly divisor used to calculate the ordinary hourly rate went from 220 to 210 hours, and this change cannot translate into a reduction of the worker’s salary. If your company is still settling overtime, surcharges, or benefits with the old divisor, there is a real risk of a Ministry of Labor penalty and labor lawsuits.

This article explains, based on the official regulation, exactly what must change in your payroll this week — not on some future date, it is already mandatory.

Table of Contents

1. What Law 2101 of 2021 says about working hours in Colombia
2. The real change: divisor from 220 to 210 hours
3. How overtime pay works as of July 15, 2026
4. Night and Sunday surcharges: the other change that intersects with working hours
5. What other payroll items are affected
6. Risks if your company doesn’t adjust in time
7. Checklist: what to review in your payroll this week
8. Frequently asked questions

What Law 2101 of 2021 Says About Working Hours in Colombia

Law 2101 of 2021, issued by the Colombian Congress, gradually reduced the maximum legal work week: from 48 hours per week to 47 in July 2023, to 46 in July 2024, to 44 in July 2025, and finally to 42 hours per week as of July 15, 2026. Official source: Secretaría del Senado — Ley 2101 de 2021.

The 42-hour week can be distributed over 5 or 6 days, with at least one mandatory rest day, and a maximum of 9 hours per day without the additional hours within that limit generating an overtime surcharge. The law is clear on a point many companies overlook: the reduction in hours cannot result in a reduction of the worker’s salary.

Workers classified as management, trust, or high-responsibility positions (roles with real autonomy over their own time) fall outside this general limit and are subject to a different regime. That classification depends on the actual duties of the role, not just the job title — confirm it with your labor advisor before assuming an employee is exempt.

The Real Change: Divisor from 220 to 210 Hours

The adjustment that most affects payroll isn’t the work week itself — it’s the divisor used to calculate the value of the ordinary hour. Previously, with a 44-hour week, the monthly divisor was 220 hours. With a 42-hour week, the new divisor is 210 hours.

Since the monthly salary doesn’t change but is now divided by fewer hours, the value of the ordinary hour increases. This isn’t optional or gradual: if your payroll system still uses 220 as the divisor, every overtime, surcharge, and benefits calculation since July 15 is wrong.

How Overtime Pay Works as of July 15, 2026

The 2 hours that used to be considered part of the ordinary work week (between 42 and 44 hours weekly) are now paid as overtime:

This means any worker still following a schedule designed for a 44-hour week is, in practice, generating overtime from hour 43 onward — and those hours have to be settled in payroll as such, not as ordinary work time.

• Daytime overtime: 25% surcharge over the value of the ordinary hour (already recalculated with the 210-hour divisor).
• Night overtime: 75% surcharge over the value of the ordinary hour.

Night and Sunday Surcharges: the Other Change That Intersects with Working Hours

The same half of the year brought another adjustment that combines with this one: as of July 1, 2026, the surcharge for working on Sundays or holidays went up from 80% to 90%, under article 14 of Law 2466 of 2025. Official source: Función Pública — Gestor Normativo, Ley 2466 de 2025.

If a worker is on a night shift on a Sunday or holiday, the night surcharge (35%) is added to the Sunday surcharge (90%), for a total of 125% over the value of the ordinary hour — already calculated with the new 210-hour divisor. The two changes (working hours and the Sunday surcharge) took effect two weeks apart, which has created real confusion in several companies about which divisor and which percentage to apply first. We go deeper into the full calculation in our guide to 2026 surcharges in Colombia.

What Other Payroll Items Are Affected

The divisor change doesn’t only affect overtime. It also impacts:

If your company also has staff under service agreements, it’s worth reviewing in parallel whether those contractors truly meet the criteria to avoid being treated as an employment relationship — Law 2466 of 2025 tightened that test. We explain it in our guide on contractor vs. employee in Colombia.

• Service bonus (prima de servicios) — settled on salary, but the reference hourly value for proportional adjustments changes.
• Severance pay and severance interest (cesantías) — same recalculation effect on the hourly value.
• Vacation pay — if settled proportionally based on hours worked.
• Social security and payroll tax contributions — the contribution base itself doesn’t change because of this adjustment, but it can be affected if the overtime and surcharge values that are part of the salary change.

Risks if Your Company Doesn’t Adjust in Time

An employer that exceeds the 42 ordinary hours without paying the corresponding overtime, or that keeps using the 220-hour divisor to settle payroll, is exposed to:

• A Ministry of Labor inspection, which can review schedule records and interview workers directly to verify compliance — see our analysis of the Ministry of Labor’s active inspections.
• Administrative fines for failing to comply with the maximum legal work week.
• Labor lawsuits from workers claiming retroactive payment of overtime miscalculated since July 15, 2026.
• UGPP data cross-checks between what’s reported in electronic payroll and the new surcharge percentages in effect — a cross-check that can trigger requests months later, not only at the time of an inspection.

Checklist: What to Review in Your Payroll This Week

1. Confirm that the monthly divisor used by your payroll provider is already 210 hours, not 220.
2. Verify that hours worked between the 43rd and 44th weekly hour are being settled as overtime, not as ordinary work time.
3. Check that the Sunday and holiday surcharge is at 90%, not the previous 80%.
4. If there are night shifts on Sundays or holidays, confirm the system correctly adds 35% + 90% = 125%.
5. Adjust shift schedules so they don’t exceed 42 hours a week without automatically generating overtime.
6. Document the change (internal memo, addendum if applicable) to have support in case of an eventual inspection. You can rely on our monthly business compliance checklist to avoid loose ends on other fronts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Since when is the 42-hour work week in effect in Colombia?

Since July 15, 2026, following the gradual reduction schedule established in Law 2101 of 2021.

Can the reduction in working hours lower my salary?

No. The law is explicit: the reduction in working hours cannot translate into a decrease in the worker’s salary.

What is the new divisor for calculating the ordinary hour?

210 monthly hours, replacing the 220-hour divisor that applied under the 44-hour work week.

What happens if my company keeps settling payroll with the previous divisor?

Every overtime, surcharge, and benefits calculation done with the 220-hour divisor after July 15, 2026 is incorrect, and exposes the company to labor claims and Ministry of Labor penalties.

Is the 90% Sunday surcharge part of the same reform?

It’s a related but separate reform: the 90% Sunday surcharge comes from article 14 of Law 2466 of 2025 and took effect on July 1, 2026, two weeks before the 42-hour work week.

Does the 42-hour work week apply equally to Colombian companies and subsidiaries of foreign companies?

Yes. Law 2101 of 2021 applies to every employment relationship governed by the Colombian Labor Code, regardless of the origin of the employing company’s capital.

What happens if a worker already had a 42-hour schedule before the law?

There’s no operational change to their work week, but it’s worth checking that the divisor used in their payroll already reflects the 210 hours, so the value of the ordinary hour is correctly updated.