Negotiating salary and benefits in Colombia

43506POSTS

6 years ago

Hello everyone,

Better job prospects in Colombia can most certainly be an incentive to leave your country of origin. Securing a contract with the right salary and benefits for you can be crucial to make your move successful.

Is salary and benefits negotiation regarded as common practice in Colombia? If yes, how should you go about negotiating your package (during the hiring process, on a monthly/yearly basis...)?

What do you expect to be included in terms of benefits in your package? Which benefits do you deem necessary in Colombia?

Is tax on the salary of an expat applicable in Colombia or do you have to turn to tax bodies in your country of origin to pay your taxes?

Do the exchange rates of currencies impact your salary as an expat?

Looking back, are there some changes you would have made during the negotiation of your salary and benefits package?

Thank you for sharing your experience,

Bhavna

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OsageArcher Colombia Expert

1661POSTS

6 years ago

Just to point out a big difference between Colombia and many other developed countries, in how they view the labor force and the freedom to earn a salary based on your talent and experience, according to (mostly) free market forces:

The article above tells how Anif, the Asociaci贸n Nacional de Institutas Financieras (National Association of Finance Institutions), has proposed that those in the Colombian workforce who are between 18 and 25 years of age be paid only 75% of the minimum monthly salary.聽 That amount currently would be about 621,000 COP or just under $180 USD per month at today's exchange rate.聽 The Anif gives the justification that this would help unemployment among those in that age group which is about twice the national average of 11% unemployment.

Note that this is directly opposite with what both the right and the left in the US would want - not to raise salaries or allow the free market to work to determine wages, but rather to mandate a cut in salaries based only on age.聽

In Colombia many people in power believe in a centrally managed economy instead of a largely free market - even though any number of examples in history show that a free economy largely free of government intervention allows for greater success and growth and prosperity for everyone.

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