COLOMBIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jaime Trujillo, Juan David Velasco, Natalia Ponce de León and Angelica Navarro, Baker McKenzie S.A.S.
salary for each additional year of service, proportionally per fraction; • for employees who had more than ten years of service as of 27 December 2002, the sev - erance is equivalent to 45 days’ salary for the first year of service and 40 additional days of salary for each year subsequent to the first, proportionally for fractions of the year; and • for employees who had ten years of service or more as of 31 December 1990 and are entitled to reinstatement, the severance is equivalent to 45 days salary for the first year of service and 30 additional days of salary for each year subsequent to the first, proportion - ally for fractions of the year. For agreements entered into under a fixed period or for the duration of a specific job or activity, the severance is equivalent to the salaries cor - responding to the unexpired period of the con - tract, or to the term remaining for the completion of the specific job or activity, which cannot be less than 15 days of salary. Under Colombian law, a collective dismissal occurs when an employer unilaterally and with - out cause terminates the employment agree - ments of a certain percentage of its employees within a period of six consecutive months, with - out the required authorisation from the Ministry of Labour. These percentages, which are estab - lished by law, vary depending on the size of the company’s workforce. To proceed with a collective dismissal, the employer must obtain prior authorisation from the Ministry of Labour. The Ministry can, at its discretion, approve or reject this request. In practice, the Ministry is often reluctant to grant such authorisation, typically taking more than 12 months to review the request and possibly deny - ing it. Mass layoffs conducted without authori -
sation from the Ministry of Labour, or in cases where such authorisation has been denied, will be considered void. Consequently, employees must be reinstated with back-pay for salaries and labour benefits accrued but not paid during the period of unemployment. 4.5 Employee Representations In Colombia, works councils/employee repre - sentative bodies do not exist as such. However, employees have the right to form or join unions. A union must have a minimum of 25 members, each of whom must be at least 14 years old, in order to be formed. These requirements must be certified at an initial constitution meeting and executed with the intention to become unionised employees, at which time the employees will sign a foundation minute. The foundation minute is one of the requirements that must be fulfilled to register the union with the Ministry of Labour. To become part of an already existing union, employees must be at least 14 years old and meet the requirements established in the by- laws of the union. Unions are authorised to enter into collective bargaining agreements on behalf of the affiliated employees. In addition to the provisions agreed upon between the parties, the collective bargain - ing agreement must indicate: • the company or establishment; • industry and trades covered thereby; • the place or places where it is to govern; • the date on which it takes effect, its duration, and the causes and methods of its renewal and termination; and • the responsibility for non-performance.
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