Severance Settlement for Voluntary Resignation in Colombia: How to Calculate Your Benefits

Deciding to submit a voluntary resignation letter marks the close of a professional stage and the start of a new project, whether you are looking for a new job or taking the step toward independent work. However, persistent myths circulate around this process: many workers mistakenly believe that by resigning they lose their accumulated benefits, or that the company has an arbitrary period of weeks to pay out the money.

In Colombia, the labor law is categorical: voluntary resignation never extinguishes accrued salary and benefit rights. The only thing you are not entitled to in this scenario is the severance pay for unjustified dismissal stipulated in article 64 of the Substantive Labor Code (CST). The rest of your social benefits and paid rest days must be paid up to the last day worked.

What does your final settlement for resignation include?

When you end the employment relationship on your own initiative, your final settlement must consolidate all accrued amounts that have not yet been paid. This account comprises five essential components:

• Pending wages: the days worked in the current month that have not been paid at the time of formal separation.
• Proportional severance (cesantías): the portion corresponding to the days worked in the current year that has not yet been deposited into your severance fund (Art. 249 CST).
• Interest on severance: the legal return of 12% per year on the value of severance accumulated in the period (Law 52 of 1975).
• Proportional service bonus (prima): the portion corresponding to the current calendar semester (from January 1 to June 30, or from July 1 to December 31) according to Art. 306 CST.
• Pending or compensated vacation: the paid rest days accrued and not taken, settled in cash (Art. 186 CST).

Remember that payroll calculation in Colombia uses the commercial year of 360 days, structured in twelve months of exactly 30 days, regardless of whether a calendar month has 28 or 31 days.

Mathematical formulas to calculate each benefit

To accurately verify the pay stub issued by the human resources or accounting department, you can directly apply the current legal formulas backed by the Ministry of Labor. A general numerical example, different from this resignation approach, is in how to calculate labor settlement in Colombia step by step.

1. Severance Allowance (Auxilio de Cesantías)

It corresponds to one month of salary for each full year of work, or proportionally for any fraction of time served:

Cesantías = (Salario Base Mensual × Días Laborados en el Periodo) ÷ 360

2. Interest on Severance

The law sets interest of 12% per year on the balance of accumulated severance, which is recognized proportionally to the fraction worked:

Intereses de Cesantías = (Valor de Cesantías Causadas × Días Laborados × 0,12) ÷ 360

3. Service Bonus

Equals 15 days of salary per semester worked. If you resign mid-semester, the exact proportion of the days elapsed from the start of that semester (January 1 or July 1) to your last day of work is settled:

Prima de Servicios = (Salario Base Mensual × Días Laborados en el Semestre) ÷ 360

4. Vacation Compensation in Cash

For each year of service, 15 business days of paid vacation correspond. If upon leaving you have pending days or an accumulated fraction, they are settled using a divisor of 720 days:

Vacaciones = (Salario Básico Mensual × Días Laborados en el Periodo de Vacaciones) ÷ 720

Transportation allowance: when it adds and when it is excluded

One of the most common errors when reviewing a settlement lies in the salary base used for each calculation. When the contract recognizes the legal transportation allowance, that amount does not enter equally into all concepts.

Colombian regulations clearly stipulate how this subsidy operates:

• Added for Severance and Service Bonus: the legal transportation allowance is mandatorily incorporated into the salary base to determine both the severance and the semiannual bonus.
• Excluded from Vacations: vacations do not constitute a social benefit but a paid rest. Since during vacations the worker does not incur daily commuting expenses to their workplace, the transportation allowance is legally excluded from this base.

Payment deadlines and Article 65 of the Substantive Labor Code

There is a widespread belief that companies have "15 business days" or "one month" as a legal deadline to pay the settlement after a resignation. The legal reality is different: article 65 of the CST establishes that labor entitlements must be paid immediately upon termination of the contract.

Nevertheless, the Labor Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice has reiterated that companies may adopt a reasonable operational period, usually coinciding with the company's next regular payroll cutoff. Likewise, the well-known late-payment penalty (one day of salary for each day of delay) does not apply automatically or objectively: a labor judge must first assess whether the employer acted in manifest bad faith and deliberately and unjustifiably withheld the amounts owed.

Mandatory documents you should request when leaving

When formalizing your departure, your employer has the obligation to provide you with the following supports to guarantee your legal and labor peace of mind:

1. Detailed settlement: breakdown of each settled concept, days counted, salary base and legal health and pension deductions corresponding to the days worked in the month.
2. Employment certificate: document certifying the position held, main duties, type of contract and exact start and end dates.
3. Order for exit medical exam: occupational exit evaluation that you must undergo within the deadlines indicated by the company.
4. Severance withdrawal authorization letter: addressed to your administering fund if you still have consolidated balances from previous years.

If after resigning you are going to invoice on your own account, the next tax step is to get the RUT at the DIAN. Watch out for anyone who charges you to prepare the settlement: your employer owes it to you, and the next work contact can go directly via WhatsApp, with no agency commission.

Frequently asked questions

❓ If I resign voluntarily, do I lose my severance or my service bonus?

No, voluntary resignation does not extinguish any social benefit accrued by law in Colombia. Your employer is legally obligated to pay you the proportional severance, its interest, the semester's service bonus and the vacations accrued up to the effective date of departure. That criterion remains in force in 2026.

❓ How long does a company in Colombia have to pay the settlement after a resignation?

Article 65 of the Substantive Labor Code requires payment upon termination of the contract, with no fixed legal period of 15 business days. Companies usually settle at the nearest regular payroll cutoff to coordinate accounting disbursements. That criterion is in force in 2026.

❓ Does the penalty of one day's salary per day of delay apply automatically?

No, the late-payment penalty does not operate automatically. According to the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Justice, a labor judge must assess the reasons for the delay and verify whether there was employer bad faith before ordering payment of that penalty. That criterion is in force in 2026.

❓ Why is the transportation allowance not included in the vacation calculation?

Because vacations are legally considered a paid rest and not a social benefit. Since there is no physical commute to the workplace during the vacation period, the transportation allowance is not part of the settlement base. That exclusion remains in force in 2026.

❓ Where can I check whether my settlement is correctly calculated?

You can use the free web tool Mi Calculadora, enabled by the Ministry of Labor of Colombia and consulted in September 2026. It lets you enter your start and end dates along with your base salary to generate an official estimate and compare the values with your pay stub.

❓ What legal deductions can the company make from my final settlement?

The employer can only deduct health, pension, withholding tax if applicable, and debts authorized in writing. Those items cover the days of salary for the month and the loans (libranzas) you have accepted in writing, a rule in force in 2026.