Colombia: Special Aid for Suspended Employees
Resolution 1361 (2 July) and the External Circular N. 3 (6 July), issued by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit and the Pension and Payroll contributions Unit (UGPP), has regulated access to the state contribution to help employers to pay the legal service bonus for the first semester of the year (PAP). The potential beneficiaries must prove the need for the state contribution by showing the economic impact (of 20% or more to their income) suffered during the outbreak of COVID- 19. Once the relevant authority has verified that the minimum conditions have been met, the employer could be entitled to receive a subsidy equivalent to (approximately) $55 (USD) per qualified employee.
In addition, on 3 June 2020, the Colombian government created an aid program targeting employees whose contracts have been suspended due to the pandemic (Decree 770). The amount of the aid is equivalent to $42 (approx.) and could be granted up to three times, so long as the social contribution base of the employee is less than 4 monthly minimum wages, approx. $920 (USD).
Resolution 1262 (10 July) clarified the rules to access the program and reinforced that the potential beneficiaries are not required to submit any form or request. Therefore, the UGPP, the National Planning Department and the Ministry of Labour will identify the beneficiaries, while the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit will be responsible for transferring the aid directly to the employees’ bank accounts; in order to access the relevant data to assign the subsidies, the entities will take into account all available data from other programs created during the state of Sanitary Emergency (PAP and PAEF).
For additional information on any matter related to labor issues in Colombia, please contact Alejandro Castellanos (Partner) of López & Asociados at alejandro.castellanos@lopezasociados.net or visit www.lopezasociados.net
For more information please contact Joseph Granato, Communications Manager at L&E Global at joseph.granato@leglobal.org.
