Paternity Leave Application Colombia (Solicitud de Licencia de Paternidad)

A Paternity Leave Application Colombia (Solicitud de Licencia de Paternidad) is a formal written request submitted by a male employee or same-sex partner to an employer seeking the paid paternity leave established under Article 236 of the Codigo Sustantivo del Trabajo (CST), as modified by Ley 2114 de 2021 and originally expanded by Ley 755 de 2002 and Ley 1468 de 2011. Article 236 of the CST grants every father or same-sex adoptive parent a paid leave of two calendar weeks (formerly eight business days before the 2021 reform) upon the birth or adoption of a child, regardless of whether the employment contract is indefinite, fixed-term, or obra o labor determinada.

The constitutional foundation for paternity leave in Colombia rests in Articles 42 and 44 of the Constitucion Politica de 1991, which establish the family as the fundamental nucleus of society and declare the rights of children to have care and love as prevailing over the rights of others. The Corte Constitucional has repeatedly affirmed the importance of paternity leave in Sentencia C-663 de 2009 and Sentencia C-383 de 2012, recognizing that father-child bonding during the first days of life serves the superior interest of the child (interes superior del menor) and promotes gender equity in caregiving responsibilities under Article 13 of the Constitution.

Ley 2114 de 2021 — which took effect on 29 July 2021 — expanded paternity leave from eight business days to two calendar weeks and introduced three key innovations: the creation of shared parental leave (licencia parental compartida) allowing parents to redistribute up to six weeks of the mother's maternity leave, flexible parental time (tiempo parental flexible) permitting half-day work arrangements during the first six months, and progressive increases in paternity leave duration contingent on national employment rate improvements. Under Article 2 of Ley 2114, the two-week paternity leave applies to births and adoptions occurring after the law's effective date.

The economic cost of paternity leave in Colombia is borne by the Sistema General de Seguridad Social en Salud through the Entidad Promotora de Salud (EPS) to which the worker is affiliated, not by the employer directly. Under Article 236 paragraph 5 of the CST, the EPS reimburses the employer for the salary paid during paternity leave upon presentation of the Registro Civil de Nacimiento (birth certificate) or the sentencia de adopcion (adoption decree) and the certification of affiliation to the EPS. The Ministerio de Salud y Proteccion Social oversees compliance with the reimbursement process through the ADRES (Administradora de los Recursos del Sistema General de Seguridad Social en Salud).

To qualify for paternity leave under CST Article 236, the father must have contributed to the Sistema General de Seguridad Social en Salud for at least the period of gestation — typically calculated as the number of weeks between conception and birth reported on the Planilla Integrada de Liquidacion de Aportes (PILA). The Decreto 780 de 2016, which compiles regulatory norms of the health sector, establishes the administrative procedure for EPS recognition of the economic benefit. Where the father has not completed the minimum contribution period, the employer remains responsible for paying a proportional fraction of the leave salary, with the EPS covering the remainder based on actual weeks contributed.

The Ministerio del Trabajo (MinTrabajo) enforces paternity leave compliance through workplace inspections under CST Articles 485 through 487. Employers who deny or obstruct paternity leave face administrative sanctions imposed by the Direccion Territorial del Trabajo, including fines of up to 5,000 SMLMV under Ley 1610 de 2013 Article 7. Colombian labour courts — Juzgados Laborales del Circuito — have jurisdiction over disputes arising from paternity leave denials, with the Corte Constitucional's tutela mechanism providing an expedited remedy when fundamental rights of the child or family are at stake.

The Solicitud de Licencia de Paternidad must be filed with the employer within 30 days following the birth or adoption, accompanied by the Registro Civil de Nacimiento or the sentencia judicial de adopcion. Decreto 1072 de 2015 — the Decreto Unico Reglamentario del Sector Trabajo — consolidates the regulatory framework governing leave entitlements and requires employers to maintain records of all leave requests and approvals as part of the employee file (hoja de vida del trabajador).

Under Article 5 of Ley 2114 de 2021, paternity leave duration will progressively increase based on national employment metrics published by the Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE). When the national unemployment rate drops below 10% for two consecutive years, paternity leave extends to three weeks; below 8% triggers four weeks; and below 6% triggers five weeks. The Ministerio del Trabajo monitors these thresholds and publishes administrative circulars confirming the applicable leave duration each calendar year.

A Paternity Leave Application Colombia is needed when a male employee or same-sex partner in a Colombian employment relationship becomes the biological or adoptive father of a child and seeks to exercise the paid leave right established in Article 236 of the Codigo Sustantivo del Trabajo, as modified by Ley 2114 de 2021. The application must be submitted regardless of the type of employment contract — whether a contrato a termino indefinido under CST Article 45, a contrato a termino fijo under CST Article 46, or a contrato por obra o labor determinada.

The Solicitud de Licencia de Paternidad is required when the child's birth has occurred or is imminent and the father needs to formally notify the employer of the dates during which the two-week leave will be taken. Under CST Article 236, the leave must begin no later than 30 days after the birth or the date the adoption decree becomes final (ejecutoria de la sentencia de adopcion). Failing to submit the application within this 30-day window may result in forfeiture of the leave entitlement, as established in Decreto 780 de 2016.

A father working for any Colombian employer — whether a Sociedad por Acciones Simplificada (SAS) under Ley 1258 de 2008, a Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada (Ltda.), a Sociedad Anonima (SA), a persona natural comerciante, or a public-sector entity governed by Ley 909 de 2004 — must file the paternity leave application to activate the EPS reimbursement mechanism. Without the formal application and supporting documentation, the EPS will not process the incapacidad por licencia de paternidad through the PILA system, leaving the employer unable to recover the salary costs.

The application is also necessary when the father plans to request shared parental leave (licencia parental compartida) under Article 3 of Ley 2114 de 2021. Under this mechanism, both parents may agree to transfer up to six weeks of the 18-week maternity leave to the father, provided the mother retains at least 12 weeks. The shared parental leave request requires a joint written application signed by both parents, presented to both employers with copies of the EPS affiliation certificates.

Workers affiliated to the Regimen Contributivo of the Sistema General de Seguridad Social en Salud through any EPS — including Sura EPS, Nueva EPS, Sanitas, Compensar, Famisanar, or Coomeva — must present the completed application to trigger the recognition and payment process administered by the ADRES. The Superintendencia Nacional de Salud supervises EPS compliance with timely recognition of paternity leave benefits under Ley 1122 de 2007.

Foreign nationals working in Colombia under a visa de trabajo issued by Migracion Colombia under Decreto 1067 de 2015 are equally entitled to paternity leave, provided they are affiliated to the Sistema General de Seguridad Social en Salud and have met the minimum contribution requirements during the gestation period.

The application is additionally required when the father intends to exercise the flexible parental time option (tiempo parental flexible) under Article 4 of Ley 2114 de 2021. Under this mechanism, after completing the mandatory two-week paternity leave, the father may negotiate with the employer a half-day work arrangement for a period equivalent to the remaining leave weeks, effectively extending the parental bonding period while maintaining partial work duties. The flexible parental time arrangement must be documented in a written addendum to the employment contract and reported to the EPS for contribution adjustment purposes through the PILA system. The employer cannot unilaterally deny the flexible parental time request where operational conditions reasonably permit the accommodation, as the Corte Constitucional has interpreted the right broadly under the principio de interes superior del menor established in Article 44 of the Constitucion Politica de 1991.

A valid Paternity Leave Application Colombia under Article 236 of the Codigo Sustantivo del Trabajo and Ley 2114 de 2021 must contain the following elements to trigger the paid leave entitlement and the EPS reimbursement process under Decreto 780 de 2016.

Employee Identification: Full legal name of the father, cedula de ciudadania number (for Colombian nationals) or cedula de extranjeria (for foreign residents holding a visa de trabajo under Decreto 1067 de 2015), job title (cargo), department, and the employee's contact information. The identification must match the data registered in the Planilla Integrada de Liquidacion de Aportes (PILA) to allow the EPS to verify contribution history during the gestation period.

Employer Information: Legal name (razon social) of the employing company or individual, NIT (Numero de Identificacion Tributaria) assigned by the DIAN, and the name and position of the direct supervisor or human resources representative to whom the application is addressed. Where the employer is a legal entity, the Camara de Comercio registration number should be referenced to confirm the employer's legal standing.

Type of Event: Clear specification of whether the leave is requested due to biological birth (nacimiento) or judicial adoption (adopcion), as the supporting documentation requirements differ. For biological births, the Registro Civil de Nacimiento issued by the Registraduria Nacional del Estado Civil is required. For adoptions, the sentencia judicial de adopcion issued by a Juez de Familia or the Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar (ICBF) administrative adoption resolution is required.

Child's Information: Full name of the newborn or adopted child as recorded in the Registro Civil de Nacimiento, date of birth or adoption, and the Numero Unico de Identificacion Personal (NUIP) assigned by the Registraduria Nacional del Estado Civil. For multiple births (partos multiples), each child must be identified separately, though the leave duration remains two calendar weeks regardless of the number of children born.

EPS Affiliation Details: Name of the EPS to which the father is affiliated under the Regimen Contributivo of the Sistema General de Seguridad Social en Salud established by Ley 100 de 1993, the EPS affiliation number, and confirmation that contributions have been paid during the gestation period. Under Decreto 780 de 2016, the minimum contribution period required for full EPS recognition of the paternity leave benefit equals the gestational period — approximately 36 to 40 weeks of uninterrupted contributions.

Requested Leave Dates: Specific start and end dates for the two-week paternity leave period under CST Article 236 as modified by Ley 2114 de 2021. The leave must commence within 30 days of the birth or adoption. The application should specify whether the father also intends to request shared parental leave (licencia parental compartida under Article 3 of Ley 2114) or flexible parental time (tiempo parental flexible under Article 4 of Ley 2114), as these mechanisms require additional documentation including the mother's written consent and her employer's acknowledgment.

Supporting Documentation Checklist: The application must list the attached documents — Registro Civil de Nacimiento or sentencia de adopcion, EPS affiliation certificate, most recent PILA payment receipt showing active contributions, and a copy of the mother's EPS affiliation certificate when shared parental leave is requested. The Ministerio del Trabajo requires employers to maintain copies of all paternity leave documentation in the employee's personnel file under Decreto 1072 de 2015.

Authorization Request and Signature: A formal request to the employer authorizing the leave and processing the EPS reimbursement claim through the ADRES (Administradora de los Recursos del Sistema General de Seguridad Social en Salud). The father's handwritten or digital signature, date of submission, and the city where the application is filed must appear at the bottom of the document.

Employer Acknowledgment of Receipt: A dedicated section where the employer or human resources representative confirms receipt of the application, the date received, and the internal tracking number assigned. The employer's acknowledgment serves as proof that the father submitted the application within the 30-day deadline established by CST Article 236 and triggers the employer's obligation to process the EPS reimbursement claim. Under Decreto 1072 de 2015, the employer must retain the acknowledged application in the worker's personnel file (hoja de vida del trabajador) for the duration of the employment relationship and for at least three years after termination per the prescriptive period of CST Article 488.

Data Protection Notice: Under Ley 1581 de 2012 (Ley de Proteccion de Datos Personales) and Decreto 1377 de 2013, the personal data contained in the paternity leave application — including the father's identification, the child's birth information, and the EPS affiliation details — is classified as personal data subject to the employer's privacy policy. The employer must process this data exclusively for employment management, social security compliance, and EPS reimbursement purposes, with the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC) serving as the enforcement authority for data protection violations.

Forms-legal.com provides this Paternity Leave Application Colombia template as a practical tool for exercising the leave right established by Colombian law. Every application should be reviewed against the specific EPS requirements and the employer's internal leave procedures. The Ministerio del Trabajo, the Superintendencia Nacional de Salud, and the UGPP (Unidad de Gestion Pensional y Parafiscales) each have oversight roles in paternity leave compliance and may audit employer records at any time.