Colombia vacation: 15 working days and what you are paid
CST article 186 grants fifteen (15) consecutive working days of paid vacation after a year of service. Article 192 pays the ordinary wage on the day the rest starts; overtime and work on mandatory rest days are excluded.
This page estimates vacation pay only for an employment contract. It is not prima, cesantías, or U.S. PTO cash-out.
With a monthly wage of COP 2,000,000 and 360 days, pay is COP 1,000,000 ((2,000,000 × 360) ÷ 720) and 15 educational working days.
Not legal advice. Article 186 does not print “720”: it is (wage÷30)×15×(days÷360). No transport allowance. Paying unused days in cash at termination is a different settlement (Law 995 of 2005 repealed the three-month floor in old art. 189.2). Independent contractors are out of scope.
How is it calculated?
Pay = ordinary monthly wage × days worked in the year ÷ 720
A 360-day commercial year is exactly half a month of pay (15 × wage/30).
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ordinary wage | COP 2,000,000 |
| Year days | 360 |
| Divisor | 720 |
| Educational working days | 15 |
| Pay | COP 1,000,000 |
Examples (same numbers as the engine)
| Case | Wage | Days | Pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial year | COP 2,000,000 | 360 | COP 1,000,000 |
| Half year | COP 2,000,000 | 180 | COP 500,000 |
| Zero days | COP 2,000,000 | 0 | COP 0 |
| Calendar 365 | COP 2,000,000 | 365 | COP 1,013,888.89 |
| No allowance (wage 1.8M) | COP 1,800,000 | 360 | COP 900,000 |
Law 1429 of 2010 lets the parties agree in writing, at the worker’s request, to pay up to half in cash. Article 190 requires at least 6 consecutive working days of rest each year.
Sources
- CST arts. 186, 187, 189, 190, and 192 (SISJUR, Decree 2663 of 1950).
- Law 1429 of 2010 art. 20 (cash-out of up to half). Law 995 of 2005 art. 2 (repealed the three-month floor in old art. 189.2).
- MinTrabajo / annual minimum-wage decree: this tool does not freeze those amounts.
Last checked: 3 September 2026.
CST art. 186: 15 consecutive working days per year of service. Not Mexico’s scale and not Brazil’s 30-day CLT vacation.
Educational convention: monthly wage × days worked in the year ÷ 720, i.e. (wage÷30)×15×(days÷360). Article 186 does not print 720.
Not in this tool. Article 192 uses ordinary wage; overtime and mandatory-rest work are excluded.
Law 1429/2010: at most half, in writing, at the worker’s request. Paying the balance when the contract ends is a different settlement.
Change the days (0 to 366). A 180-day commercial half-year is 7.5 educational working days.
No. Prima, cesantías, and art. 64 indemnity are out of scope. Independent contractors are not art. 186 employees.
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