It is getting closer and closer payment of service premium of the first half of this year. Because of this, Colombians must prepare to avoid confusion on some labor issues.
In fact, there are two types of premiums: services and extralegal. Workers have the right to one of them, since it is mandatory for employers.
Natalia Alzate, lawyer at the Godoy Córdoba firm and with a specialization in labor law from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, explained to EL TIEMPO the differences between these bonuses, what the worker should do if they are not paid the benefit to which they are entitled and how each of them works.
Natalia Alzate, lawyer at the Godoy Córdoba firm
Photo:Courtesy
How is the service premium different from the extralegal premium?
Mandatory payment
“All the workers “dependents, that is, those who provide their services under an employment contract, have the right to receive payment of the legal service premium each semester.”
People who do not have the right to it are people who work under the service provision modality. In addition, apprentices and interns who do not have a work relationship.
Therefore, the employer can file a claim with the employer, a complaint with the Ministry of Labor and/or a lawsuit with labor judges.
“Extralegal premiums are benefits that an employer can recognize to its workers additional to the debts legally established by regulations. That is, employers are not obliged to recognize extralegal bonuses, but they can decide to make this recognition unilaterally or by agreement with the workers,” stated Alzate.
The bonus is in article 128 of the Substantive Labor Code.
Photo:iStock
Therefore, the main difference with the legal service premium is that the latter does correspond to a payment of mandatory recognition by employers to their workers.
Payment calculation for each
The calculation of the legal service premium will always depend on the worker’s salary and the time worked in each semester, since the premium corresponds to 30 days of the worker’s salary for each year of service and is recognized in 2 payments; half no later than June 30 and the other half no later than the first 20 days of December of each year. It is important to specify that the bonus is recognized proportionally with respect to the days worked in each semester.
If the employer does not pay the premium, it will face sanctions.
Photo:iStock
On the other hand, the labor law lawyer told EL TIEMPO that “as the extralegal bonus is a recognition outside the norm, the calculation This type of bonus is designed mainly by the employer through its policies or, in some cases, through agreements with its workers. In practice, it is common for its recognition and value to be established by the employer based on the fulfillment of corporate objectives.”
What happens if an employer does not pay the mandatory service premium?
Additionally, it may lead to possible legal claims from workers in which a judge may eventually order the employer to pay a default penalty to the worker, depending on each specific case.
However, “it is only mandatory to recognize it when an employer undertakes to recognize it through an agreement with its workers. In the absence of an agreement of this type, then, the employer is not obliged to recognize an extralegal bonus to his workers,” stated Natalia Alzate.
GERALDINE BAJONERO VÁSQUEZ
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