Unemployment Aid May be Used to Receive Government Funds
New Legislation Enacted
Author: María Paula Aristizábal Domínguez, Associate - Littler Colombia
Pursuant to Decree 1562 of 2019, employees can withdraw unemployment aid savings from the government fund. Historically, this option was available only for housing and educational purposes.
Guidelines to Prevent and Assess Psychosocial Risks
New Order or Decree
Author: María Paula Aristizábal Domínguez, Associate - Littler Colombia
On July 29, 2019, the Labor Ministry, through Resolution 2404, unified and established the means through which employers can assess psychosocial risk factors inside their companies. The means created include different questionnaires and protocols that guide the actions for the intervention of these risk factors in any type of contract. The Ministry Labor will provide the software for employers to use to implement this measure.
Labor Ministry’s Authorization is Mandatory to Terminate Disabled Employee
New Regulation or Official Guidance
Author: María Paula Aristizábal Domínguez, Associate - Littler Colombia
Under the Labor Ministry’s Circular 49 of 2019, employers have an obligation to request authorization from the Labor Ministry to terminate the contract of an employee protected from termination due to a health condition, even if there exists an objective reason or cause for the redundancy. Under the circular, if there is a just cause, the Labor Inspector must verify that the disciplinary procedure has been observed. If the health condition of the employee is incompatible for his or her position, the Inspector must verify that the employer supported the employee’s rehabilitation process and that the employee could not recover to continue working. Without a just cause, the Inspector cannot give the authorization.
Conciliation is Regulated by Labor Ministry
New Regulation or Official Guidance
Author: María Paula Aristizábal Domínguez, Associate - Littler Colombia
To strengthen the formal alternative conflict resolution mechanisms, the Labor Ministry issued guidelines for Labor Inspectors to manage conciliation proceedings. This is an important opportunity to conciliate legal differences through a formal procedure and according to the parties’ private will. Both employee and employer must submit a request for a conciliation meeting with the Labor Ministry.
