Labour rights and sex work: what establishment managers need to know

If you manage an agency, a club, a house or a spa, there is one part of the business that rarely comes up in conversations about daily operations: the legal framework. And when it comes to labour rights in sex work in Colombia, that framework changed more than a decade ago, even though many establishments still operate as if nothing had happened. It is worth understanding, because it directly affects how you document shifts, payments and agreements.

What the Constitutional Court recognised

The essential reference is Sentencia T-629 de 2010 from the Constitutional Court (reporting justice Juan Carlos Henao Pérez). The case: a woman working at a bar in Bogotá was dismissed while pregnant, and the establishment argued that no employment relationship existed between them.

The Court concluded otherwise. It held that where the elements of an employment relationship come together — personal performance of the service, remuneration agreed in advance and some degree of subordination — an employment contract may exist, and with it the obligations the law imposes on any employer: pay, benefits, social security and reinforced protection of maternity. In that specific case, it ordered the establishment to pay the corresponding compensation and maternity leave.

Later rulings, such as T-594 de 2016, reinforced that sex work carried out freely and voluntarily by adults is a lawful activity in Colombia, and that those who do it are entitled to special protection against discrimination.

It is important to be precise: the Court did not authorise any arrangement whatsoever. It set clear conditions — the person's legal capacity and genuine consent, the complete absence of coercion, adulthood and dignified conditions. Anything outside that is not a debatable employment relationship: it is a crime, and no administrative paperwork turns it into something else.

What this means for whoever runs the establishment

Colombian law applies a legal presumption in favour of the worker: where there is personal performance of services, an employment contract is presumed to exist, and the burden falls on whoever denies it to prove otherwise. That shifts the burden of proof onto the establishment.

In practice, this comes down to three concrete things:

• Define and document the nature of the relationship. Whether it is an employment relationship, independent contracting or a space rental arrangement, the agreement should be in writing and reflect what actually happens day to day. A contract that says one thing while the operation shows another protects no one.
• Record shifts with start and end times. Actual working hours are one of the first facts disputed in any claim. If they only exist in a WhatsApp thread or in someone's memory, they do not exist.
• Make payments verifiable and itemised. Every person should be able to see how much they generated, what percentage is theirs, what deductions were applied and why. Opacity in the calculation is the most common source of conflict.

Why clear records also protect the business

Here is the point that usually gets missed. A manager who keeps records of shifts, commissions and payments is not only treating the people working with them better: they are also the only one able to back up their account if a claim reaches the Ministerio del Trabajo (Ministry of Labour) or a labour judge tomorrow.

Faced with a claim, an establishment without records argues from scratch against the other party's testimony and against a legal presumption that does not favour it. One that does have records can show dates, hours, amounts and agreements. Transparency stops being a gesture of goodwill and becomes a defence.

The subject is also still moving: there are bills in Congress and proposals from the Ministerio del Trabajo aimed at setting more precise guidelines on recognition of employment relationships, social security and dignified conditions in this sector. Anyone already operating with orderly records will have far less to adjust when those rules take shape.

How Foxxy does it

In Foxxy every shift is recorded with its start and end time, and every booking automatically generates the commission calculation for the person who handled it. That produces, with no extra effort, a verifiable history of hours worked and payments that both parties can consult. It is not a separate module: it is a consequence of running the business inside the system.

You can see how this is structured in the product section, or review the use cases for the type of establishment you manage.

This content is informational and does not constitute legal advice. The area is evolving in both legislation and case law: consult a labour lawyer before defining the contractual structure of your business.