Remote Work in Colombia: Teletrabajo, Work-from-Home and Remote Contracts in Payroll

A US or European company signs a developer who lives in Bogotá, a designer in Cali, and an operations lead who will come to a Colombian office twice a week. In the group's internal vocabulary all three are "remote". Under Colombian law they sit in different regimes, and the regime determines the allowance, the insurer notices and how the monthly payroll has to run.

At Soulbit Academy we explain how Colombia separates these arrangements, written for the foreign employer rather than the local HR team. This guide covers each law, the connectivity allowance against the transport allowance, ARL cover, the right to disconnect, the effect of the 2025 labor reform and what a company based abroad must do when its people are in Colombia.

Remote work in Colombia: three regimes that are not interchangeable

Remote work in Colombia is split across three legal regimes: teletrabajo, work from home and remote work. Each has its own statute, its own scope and different obligations for the employer. All three require an employment contract and keep subordination in place, so none of them turns an employee into a contractor.

Teletrabajo is defined in Law 1221 of 2008 as a labor modality that uses information technology for contact between worker and employer, without physical presence at a specific site. Its current text distinguishes forms such as autonomous, mobile, hybrid and transnational teletrabajo. It is regulated through Decree 1072 of 2015, the single labor-sector decree.

Work from home is governed by Law 2088 of 2021. It lets an employee temporarily perform duties away from the usual workplace in occasional, exceptional or special circumstances, without changing the nature of the contract.

Remote work was created by Law 2121 of 2021 as a way of performing the contract, agreed voluntarily, in which the whole relationship runs at a distance. The law states that it does not share the elements of teletrabajo or work from home.

Aspect	Teletrabajo	Work from home	Remote work
Main statute	Law 1221 of 2008	Law 2088 of 2021	Law 2121 of 2021
Nature	Standing labor modality using ICT	Temporary arrangement for exceptional circumstances	Contract performed entirely at a distance
How it is set up	Contract clause plus notice to the labor inspector	Written notice stating the period	Voluntary agreement, signed and concluded digitally
Transport or connectivity allowance	Connectivity allowance replaces transport, up to two minimum wages	Digital connectivity allowance replaces transport, up to two minimum wages	Not regulated expressly; employer covers internet and electricity
Occupational risks	Covered by the risk system	Cover kept; ARL told of data and work address	ARL affiliation, contract and risk form sent to the ARL

How each regime is agreed and what notices it requires

Each regime is set up differently, and the paperwork follows. Teletrabajo is agreed in the contract or an amendment. Law 1221 also requires the employer to inform the municipal labor inspector of the engagement, or the mayor where no inspector exists, on the form set by the Ministry of Labor.

Work from home is enabled in writing. Article 9 of Law 2088 requires written notice to workers stating how long they will work under the arrangement. The initial term is up to three months, extendable once for an equal period. If the circumstances persist, it continues until they end.

Remote work requires the parties' voluntary agreement, and the law allows the contract to be concluded and signed digitally. If an on-site employee migrates to this form, article 21 of Law 2121 requires the consent of both sides and respect for acquired rights.

Can a company impose remote work on an on-site employee?

No. Law 2121 of 2021 defines remote work as a form of performance agreed voluntarily, and article 21 conditions any migration on mutual consent. Work from home can be enabled by the employer, but only for occasional or exceptional circumstances and with written notice.

Connectivity allowance or transport allowance: which one applies

The connectivity allowance replaces the transport allowance for people working at a distance who earn up to two monthly minimum wages. With the 2026 minimum wage at COP 1,750,905 (Decree 1469 of 2025), that ceiling is COP 3,501,810. Above it, neither allowance is paid.

Law 1221 now includes an article 6A: the employer must grant a connectivity allowance to teletrabajadores earning up to two minimum wages, in place of the transport allowance. It equals the transport allowance in force and is adjusted yearly. It is not salary, but it counts toward the base for social benefits for workers earning up to two minimum wages. Article 53 of Law 2466 of 2025 added it to Law 1221.

For work from home, article 10 of Law 2088 says the same in substance: the transport allowance value is paid as a digital connectivity allowance, the two cannot be combined and, in the private sector, it has the same salary effects as transport.

Remote work is less clear. Law 2121 mentions no connectivity allowance. It does oblige the employer, in article 10, to provide tools, connections and the cost of electricity and internet or telephony. Whether a transport allowance is due to a remote worker who does not commute is a point to settle with labor counsel before writing the policy.

The yearly amount is set by decree. For 2026 it was fixed through Decree 1470 of 2025. Check the figure in the decree before configuring payroll, because this article does not reproduce it.

Social security and ARL for people working at home

Working at home does not reduce contributions or cover: the employee pays into health, pensions and occupational risk on salary, like an on-site colleague. Article 19 of Law 2121 sends the matter to the general social security rules, and contributions travel through PILA.

The ARL, the occupational-risk insurer, is the piece that varies most. For remote work, article 20 of Law 2121 obliges the employer to affiliate the worker and send the ARL the contract and a form with the activities, location, schedule and risk class. The ARL must support the check of working conditions. Article 8 also requires entry, periodic and exit medical exams.

For work from home, article 11 of Law 2088 keeps occupational-risk cover and asks the employer to communicate and update the worker's data with the ARL, including the address where the work is done if it differs from the agreed one.

What happens if a remote worker has an accident and the ARL does not have the address?

The exposure is evidentiary and financial. If the contract and form are not on file, the employer cannot show it met its notice duty, and the discussion about the origin of the accident becomes harder. Record the working address from day one and update it when it changes.

The UGPP, the social security enforcement agency, can audit contributions for the previous five years, so an affiliation or contribution-base error in a distance arrangement can surface long after.

The right to disconnect, working hours and the 2025 labor reform

Disconnection is a right of every worker, including at home: no work contact outside working hours, on vacation or during rest. Law 2191 of 2022 defines it in article 3 and, in article 5, requires every public or private employer to have a disconnection policy with an internal complaint procedure and due process. Ignoring it can amount to workplace harassment if persistent and demonstrable.

Working hours stay in force. For remote work, article 15 of Law 2121 recognizes overtime, Sunday and holiday pay, except for management and trust positions, and article 25 refers to the Substantive Labor Code. For work from home, article 6 of Law 2088 keeps the hours rules.

Law 2466 of 2025 changes the numbers behind those hours. As of October 2026, the maximum week is 42 hours from July 15, 2026, the Sunday and holiday surcharge is 90% from July 1, 2026, and night work starts at 7:00 p.m. with a 35% surcharge. For a team spread over different schedules this affects cost, as set out in the 42-hour workweek and overtime guide.

How payroll is paid in each case, including a foreign employer

Payroll for a distance worker is paid like on-site payroll: salary in pesos, the allowance if due, PILA contributions and electronic payroll filed with the DIAN. What changes between regimes is the allowance and the notices, not the payment mechanics.

An example, labeled as an assumption and unrelated to any Soulbit price: a company pays three people a salary of COP 3,000,000. The teletrabajo and work-from-home employees receive the connectivity allowance instead of transport, as they earn under COP 3,501,810. The remote-work employee receives salary and the company covers internet and electricity; whether to add a transport allowance is a decision to validate with labor counsel.

When the employer is foreign, article 2 of Law 2121 subjects it to Colombian law if it hires workers within the territory. That means a local labor contract, affiliations, PILA and salary in pesos. Using an employer of record is a common route, and anyone weighing a dollar salary will find the limit explained in what the law says about paying salary in dollars.

If the person is an independent contractor there is no payroll, but also no room for real subordination. The Mexican equivalent is in payroll for remote workers in Mexico.

What Soulbit V1 does and does not do in remote payroll

Soulbit V1 covers the movement of funds, not the labor calculation. The company keeps its balance in stablecoins under institutional custody with MPC and can disperse amounts already defined with Soulbit Salaries, individually, in batches or on a recurring basis. It can convert on request through eOTC quotes and uses local bank rails in Colombia. It also offers payment links, QR collection and human support.

Company need	What Soulbit V1 delivers	What the company handles itself
Disperse salaries already calculated	Individual, batch or recurring stablecoin payment with Soulbit Salaries	Calculating salary, allowance, benefits and deductions
Get funds in pesos	eOTC conversion by quote on request and local bank rails in Colombia	Deciding when and how much to convert
Meet social security	Not applicable	PILA filing, ARL affiliation and contributions with its accountant
Document payroll	Does not issue electronic payroll	Transmitting electronic payroll to the DIAN
Choose the legal regime	Not applicable	Contract, labor inspector and ARL notices with labor counsel

Soulbit does not calculate benefits, pay PILA, issue electronic payroll or choose the allowance that applies. An employee in Colombia must be paid in pesos, and Soulbit fits as payment infrastructure, not as a replacement for the payroll function.