Colombia: Summary of recent legislative amendments

In the past month, there have been several legislative developments related to labour and employment law matters, chief among them:

I. Regime for the exercise of the legal capacity for people with disabilities

On 26 August, the Colombian Congress issued Law 1996, which aims to establish measures to guarantee the right to full legal capacity of persons with disabilities, of legal age, and access to the support services that may be required to exercise it.

Correspondingly, the normative contents of Law 1996 provide that the capacity of the person with disabilities is presumed. This presumption will apply to labour rights. Therefore, unless it is necessary or requested by the person with a disability to use legal aid, they may hold such legal acts independently.

II. New guidelines issued by the Ministry of Labour for labour conciliations

The Ministry of Labour has issued guidelines, by which Labour Inspectors must stand by in their function as conciliators in labour matters. It should be noted that said document is a frame of reference that does not limit the actions or autonomy of the Inspectors when considering an issue to conciliate and endorse said agreement.

Thus, the Entity defines the following issues as possible objects of legal settlement:

• Single or first instance legal conflicts over rights of uncertain and debatable origin.
• When the legal nature of any form of civil or commercial contracting is discussed.
• The fees derived from any civil or commercial contract.
• The termination of the labour contract of a person in a condition of disability or weakness for health reasons, provided that the request for conciliation is made jointly by the parties.

On the other hand, the Ministry establishes, as non-reconcilable matters, the issues listed below:

• True and indisputable rights.
• Those circumstances that the Ministry defines as special, because of their broad jurisprudential protection.
• Extra-legal benefits or benefits established in conventions or collective agreements that derive in an inalienable right for the worker.
• Compensation due to accidents at work or occupational diseases, or the qualification of their origin.