On July 27, 2018 the Ministry of Labor issued Decree 1334 of 2018, which modified the dates to report the variation of the employees’ headcount, as well as the percentages of voluntary engagement of apprentices of the National Apprenticeship Service – SENA. 

According to the referred Decree, whenever there is a modification on the number of employees which affects the minimum apprenticeship quota, the company shall inform by writing this situation to the SENA’s regional office of the company’s main domicile. This can be made in the periods of July and January or March and September, as follows: 

1. If the employer decides to send the information in the months of July and January: 
   1. During the first 10 business days of July the company must report its headcount from January to June of the current year. 
   2. During the first 10 business days of January the company must report its headcount from July to December of the immediately preceding year. 
2. If the employer decides to send the information in the months of March and September: 
   1. During the first 10 business days of March the company must report its headcount corresponding to the immediately preceding year and to the one of January and February of the current year.
   2. During the first 10 business days of September the company must report its headcount from March to August of the current year. 

These periods will also apply to the filing of the report of distribution of the apprentices hired by companies with presence in two or more cities or departments. 

If the employer is currently undergoing an insolvency proceeding, the reporting of the headcount’s modification may be undertaken at any time. 

Additionally, the Decree eliminated the possibility for companies with less than 15 employees to voluntarily increase the number of apprentices sponsored by the SENA. To this extent, this alternative will only be possible for the companies with 15 or more direct employees, as long as they have not reduced the number of direct employees engaged with the company in the last 3 months prior to the date in which the request is made, nor will they reduce their headcount during the term of the apprenticeship agreements. 

This Decree will be in full force and effect as of December 1st, 2018.