Business Days and Working Hours

What Are Business Days?

Business days refer to the standard working days of the week during which businesses, government offices, and financial institutions are typically open for operations. Business days are generally used to define the timeframe for commercial transactions, deliveries, legal deadlines, and other professional activities. United States & Most Western Countries have Business days are Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. In some Middle Eastern countries, business days may run from Sunday to Thursday, with Friday and Saturday as the weekend.

How Long Is a Business Day in Colombia?

How long is a business day: The standard workday in Colombia must not exceed 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week. This means that, generally, an employee should not work more than 8 hours a day or more than 48 hours in total for a week.

1. Exceptions for Agricultural, Livestock, or Forestry Work: In these specific sectors, the workday may extend to up to 9 hours per day or 54 hours per week. This allowance is due to the nature of the work in these areas.
2. Discontinuous or Intermittent Activities and Surveillance: For jobs that are not continuous (i.e., have frequent breaks) or involve simple surveillance, the workday can extend up to 12 hours per day. However, if the employee resides at the worksite, this 12-hour limitation does not apply.

Reduction of the Workday for Hazardous or Unhealthy Work: The government has the authority to reduce the workday in jobs that are particularly hazardous or unhealthy. This would be done based on technical recommendations and after consulting with committees representing both employers and workers.

The government has set general limits on working hours in Colombia, with certain exceptions based on the nature of the work, and mentions the possibility of reducing the workday in specific cases for safety or health reasons.

How Many Business Days in a Year

To calculate the number of business days in Colombia and the US, we consider weekdays (Monday to Friday), excluding public holidays and weekends.

Comparison:

• Colombia: 244 business days
• United States: 252 business days

The US typically has 8 more business days in a year than Colombia due to fewer public holidays. You can use other methods to calculate such as the business day calculator

How Many Working Days in Semy-Monthly

Semi-monthly pay is very commonly used in some countries, and it gives employees a regular and predictable income on two fixed dates, which makes financial planning easier. Semi-monthly work, where employees are paid twice a month (often on the 15th and the last day of the month), is common in various types of roles across many industries such as finance, marketing, management, federal positions, and administrative roles.

Semi-monthly means dividing the month in half, so approximately 10 to 11 working days per half-month. For example:

• In a month with 20 working days, each semi-monthly period would have around 10 working days.
• In months with 22 working days, each semi-monthly period would have 11 working days.

Examples of semi-monthly working days:

• US (General Example): A semi-monthly period in March might have 11 working days in the first half (1st-15th) and 11 working days in the second half (16th-31st).
• Colombia (General Example): Due to more holidays, a semi-monthly period could have fewer working days, depending on which half contains a public holiday.

How Many Work Hours in a Year

For those who think in short or day-by-day, the hours for daytime and nighttime work shifts in Colombia explain the surcharges that must be paid for working outside the standard daytime hours or for overtime.

Standard Daytime Work Shift: This is established between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Any work performed within this time frame is considered part of the standard daytime work shift.

Standard Nighttime Work Shift: This is defined between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Any work performed during this time frame is considered part of the standard nighttime work shift.

To calculate any surcharge your employees in Colombia are entitled to receive we invite you to download our very complete guide about How Contract Colombian Workers, and learn everything about the payroll process in Colombia

Steps to Calculate Work Hours in a Year:

1. Total Days in a Year:
   • A typical year has 365 days (or 366 days in a leap year, like 2024).
2. Weekend Days:
   • 52 weekends mean there are 104 weekend days (Saturdays and Sundays).
3. Public Holidays:
   • Colombia has 18 public holidays.
4. Workdays in a Year:
   • Total weekdays (Monday to Saturday): 366 days (leap year) – 104 weekends = 262 weekdays.
   • Subtract public holidays: 262 – 18 = 244 workdays.
5. Work Hours in a Year:
   • 46 hours per week.
   • Weekly workdays are typically 6, so daily work hours: 46 ÷ 6 = 7.6 hours per day.
   • Total hours: 244 workdays × 7.6 hours/day = 1,855 hours per year.

The new trend: Four-day workweek

The four-day workweek is gaining popularity as a model for improving work-life balance, productivity, and employee well-being. Several countries have implemented or experimented with it, either through pilot programs, individual companies, or legislative efforts. Here are some notable examples:

5 Countries with 4-Day Workweek Experiments or Adoption:

1. Iceland:
   • Trial Period: Between 2015 and 2019, Iceland conducted one of the largest four-day workweek trials.
   • Results: The trials were deemed highly successful, showing no loss in productivity while improving workers’ well-being.
   • Outcome: After the trials, 86% of Iceland’s workforce either transitioned to a shorter workweek or gained the right to reduce hours.
2. Spain:
   • Trial Program (2021): Spain launched a pilot program with government support to test a 32-hour, 4-day workweek for companies.
   • Focus: The aim was to boost productivity, innovation, and worker happiness while keeping wages the same.
3. New Zealand:
   • Perpetual Guardian Trial (2018): A financial services company, Perpetual Guardian, successfully trialed a four-day workweek without cutting pay.
   • Outcome: The trial was successful, leading to higher productivity and job satisfaction. The company eventually adopted the policy permanently.
4. Japan:
   • Government Recommendation (2021): The Japanese government encouraged companies to adopt a four-day workweek to improve work-life balance and address Japan’s notoriously long working hours.
   • Microsoft Japan Experiment (2019): Microsoft Japan tried a four-day workweek, and the company reported a 40% increase in productivity.
5. United Kingdom:
   • Pilot Program (2022): Over 70 companies participated in a six-month trial of a four-day workweek in the UK, which turned out to be largely successful in terms of productivity and well-being.
   • Outcome: Several companies made the four-day week permanent after the trial.

Several companies in different countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, and Germany, have also experimented with or adopted the four-day workweek, particularly in the tech, marketing, and creative industries.