Adjusting regulations on overtime pay for teachers

On September 23, 2025, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Circular No. 21/2025/TT-BGD&DT regulating the regime of overtime pay for teachers in public educational institutions (Circular No. 21).

This Circular replaces Joint Circular No. 07/2013/TTLT-BGD&DT-BNV-BTC dated March 8, 2013 of the Minister of Education and Training, the Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of Finance guiding the implementation of the overtime pay regime for teachers in public educational institutions (Circular No. 07).

Compared with Joint Circular No. 07, Circular No. 21 has a number of new points to suit the teaching practices of teachers.

Adjusting the conditions for paying overtime wages

The new circular removes the provisions on conditions for paying overtime wages in Clause 6, Article 3 of Joint Circular No. 07.

Specifically, Clause 6, Article 3 of Joint Circular No. 07 stipulates: “Payment for overtime teaching is only made in units or departments that lack the number of teachers approved by competent authorities. Units or departments that do not lack teachers are only paid overtime teaching when teachers are on sick leave or maternity leave according to the provisions of the Law on Social Insurance or go to study, train, participate in inspection teams, and participate in other tasks (hereinafter referred to as performing other tasks) assigned or mobilized by competent authorities, and must arrange for other teachers to teach instead.”

In fact, the number of teachers approved by competent authorities is almost lower than the number of teachers according to the norms prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training - the norm to ensure the implementation of the educational program on the basis of adequate working conditions for teachers. In addition, due to the nature of teaching by subject, although the total number of teachers is sufficient according to the norms, when calculating by subject, there are still situations where there are subjects with excess teachers and subjects with shortages of teachers; for subjects with shortages, teachers have to teach extra hours.

Preschool teachers work 6 hours a day, but in reality, due to the nature of their job and the demands of parents, they often have to pick up children early and drop them off late (in some cases, they have to work directly at school from 6:30 to 18:00, meaning the actual working time can be up to 9 - 10 hours).

Thus, even though educational institutions have enough assigned teachers, in reality, teachers still have to teach more than the prescribed teaching hours without being paid overtime wages.

To ensure that teachers who teach extra hours are paid, to ensure fairness in the division of tasks among teachers in the same educational institution, and to ensure that overtime pay is consistent with the requirements of implementing the educational program, Circular No. 21 stipulates a number of binding conditions.

The Circular stipulates that the total number of extra teaching hours in a school year of all teachers must not be higher than the maximum total number of extra teaching hours in a school year of the educational institution for which the educational institution is paid . In which, the maximum total number of extra teaching hours for which the educational institution is paid is the total number of hours required to implement all tasks minus the total number of standard hours of all teachers actually present.

At the same time, the total number of extra teaching periods in a school year for each teacher is stipulated to not exceed 200 periods .

Adjust the total number of extra teaching periods in a school year

According to Circular No. 21, the total number of extra teaching hours in a school year for each teacher shall not exceed 200 hours. This replaces the regulation that the total number of extra teaching hours for which overtime pay is calculated in a school year shall not exceed the number of overtime hours prescribed by law, as in the previous Joint Circular No. 07.

This regulation ensures compliance with the specific characteristics of teachers' professional activities and ensures that teachers do not have to work overtime and have time to rest and restore their labor capacity, in accordance with the provisions of the Labor Code.

Adjusting the formula for calculating overtime pay

Adjusting the salary for 1 extra teaching period for lecturers and managers of educational institutions working in universities, pedagogical colleges, training and fostering institutions of Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, political schools of provinces and centrally run cities to ensure the regulations on working regime of lecturers according to Circular No. 20/2020/TT-BGD&DT and Circular No. 36/2020/TT-BGD&DT.

The current formula is:

Salary per hour of teaching	=	Total salary for 12 months in the school year	x	22.5
		Standard teaching hours/year		52 weeks

In there:

22.5	=	900 standard teaching hours	X	44 weeks
		1760 hours		52 weeks

However, the current regulations on standard teaching hours for lecturers are equivalent to 600 to 1,050 administrative hours, so the above calculation formula is no longer suitable. Accordingly, the salary for 01 teaching period is adjusted as follows:

Salary per hour of teaching	=	Total salary for 12 months in the school year	x	Standard teaching hours/year calculated based on administrative hours	x	44 weeks
		Standard teaching hours/school year		1760 hours		52 weeks

Some additional regulations

Circular No. 21 supplements regulations on the responsibility for paying overtime wages for teachers on secondment or inter-school teaching.

Specifically, overtime pay for teachers on secondment is paid by the educational institution where the teacher is on secondment. Extra-hour pay for teachers teaching inter-school is paid by the educational institution where the teacher is teaching inter-school.

In case a teacher is assigned to teach at three or more educational institutions simultaneously (including the educational institution where the teacher works), the teacher's overtime salary will be paid by the educational institutions where the teacher teaches at the inter-school level according to the ratio of the teacher's actual teaching hours at these educational institutions.

Regulations on the timing of payment of overtime pay to teachers are also added.

Accordingly, the new Circular stipulates that the time for paying overtime pay to teachers is after the end of the school year. However, in case a teacher retires, quits, is transferred, the payment of overtime pay is made at the time of the decision on retirement, quits, is transferred, or is transferred by the competent authority.

Supplementing regulations on overtime pay for teachers who have not worked for a full school year. If a teacher has less than a full school year of teaching time, he/she will receive overtime pay corresponding to the actual working time. Circular No. 21 also provides specific instructions on the formula for calculating the salary for 1 teaching period and the total number of teaching periods for which overtime pay is paid for teachers who have not worked for a full school year as a basis for calculating overtime pay in 1 school year to ensure the rights of teachers.

Circular No. 21 also supplements separate regulations for universities, colleges, training and fostering facilities of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and political schools of provinces and centrally run cities.

Specifically, based on the provisions of Circular No. 21, educational institutions shall prescribe the working regime of teachers, relevant legal provisions and actual conditions to regulate the payment of overtime wages for teachers under their management authority to ensure autonomy for educational institutions.

Circular No. 21 takes effect from the date of issuance. Educational institutions shall base on the regulations to develop their own regulations to ensure that the new Circular is implemented from the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year.

In which, determine the total maximum number of extra teaching hours in a school year for which the educational institution is paid overtime wages, prepare an estimate of the budget for overtime wages and send it to the competent authorities for approval and allocation of funds. At the same time, serve as a basis for assigning and arranging appropriate tasks for teachers, ensuring the rights of teachers, in accordance with the funding source for paying overtime wages.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/dieu-chinh-quy-dinh-tra-luong-day-them-gio-doi-voi-nha-giao-post749624.html