Hiring Domestic Help in Colombia 2026 — Labor Laws, Contracts, and Pay Rates

Hiring domestic help in Colombia is common and affordable, but Colombian labor law is protective of workers — significantly more so than US labor law. If you hire someone regularly, you must follow the rules for prestaciones sociales (mandatory benefits), or face legal liability.

Overview

Types of Domestic Help

• Empleada domestica (housekeeper): Full-time live-in or daily cleaning. Most common formal employment arrangement.
• Aseo por dias (cleaning by the day): Occasional cleaning, typically 1-2 days per week. Can be informal for occasional work.
• Niñera (nanny): Childcare. Almost always a formal employment relationship with full benefits.
• Conductor (driver): Personal driver, especially common in Bogota. Formal employment.
• Jardinero (gardener): If regular (2+ days/week), requires formal employment.

Colombian Labor Laws for Domestic Workers

Colombia has specific labor protections for domestic workers that employers must follow:

• Minimum wage: Approximately 1,423,500 COP/month (2026 projection) for full-time (48 hours/week). Part-time is proportional.
• Transportation subsidy: Workers earning up to 2x minimum wage receive a monthly transportation subsidy (auxilio de transporte) of approximately 200,000 COP
• Work hours: Maximum 48 hours/week (being reduced to 42 hours/week by 2026). Overtime must be compensated at premium rates.
• Rest days: Sundays and public holidays off, or premium pay (75% extra) if they work.
• Vacation: 15 working days of paid vacation per year

Prestaciones Sociales (Mandatory Benefits)

These are non-negotiable additions to the base salary:

• Cesantias (severance): 1 month's salary per year, deposited in a cesantias fund by February 14 each year
• Intereses sobre cesantias: 12% annual interest on the cesantias balance, paid directly to the worker by January 31
• Prima de servicios: 1 month's salary per year, paid in two installments (June and December). This is the "13th month" bonus.
• EPS (health): Employer pays 8.5% of salary to the worker's EPS
• Pension: Employer pays 12% of salary to the worker's pension fund
• ARL (work risk insurance): Employer pays 0.5-6.9% of salary depending on risk level (domestic work is low risk, typically 0.5%)
• Caja de compensacion: 4% of salary to a family compensation fund

Contracts

A written contract (contrato de trabajo) should include:

• Full names and cedula numbers of both parties
• Start date and duration (indefinite or fixed-term)
• Work schedule and duties
• Salary amount and payment frequency
• Whether the worker is live-in (interna) or daily (externa)
• Termination conditions and notice period

Have the contract reviewed by a Colombian labor attorney. Standard templates are available from the Ministry of Labor website. The contract must be in Spanish.

Pay Rates

• Occasional cleaning (per day): 60,000-100,000 COP ($17-$28 USD) for a full day
• Full-time housekeeper (monthly): 1,423,500+ COP base (minimum wage) plus prestaciones
• Live-in housekeeper (monthly): 1,423,500+ COP base plus room and board (counted as partial payment, with limits)
• Nanny (monthly): 1,500,000-2,500,000 COP base plus prestaciones
• Part-time 2-3 days/week: Proportional to minimum wage. A 2-day/week arrangement is approximately 600,000-700,000 COP/month base.