The Ministry of Education and Training has just issued Circular No. 21/2025/TT-BGDDT regulating the regime of paying overtime wages for teachers in public educational institutions (Circular No. 21).
Adjusting conditions for payment of overtime teaching wages
The new Circular removes the regulation on conditions for payment of overtime wages in Clause 6, Article 3 of Joint Circular No. 7.
Clause 6, Article 3 of Joint Circular No. 07 stipulates: Only pay for overtime teaching salaries in units or subjects with a shortage of teachers approved by competent authorities. Units or departments that do not lack teachers are only paid for overtime teaching wages when there are teachers on sick leave, maternity leave according to the provisions of the Law on Social Insurance or going to study, receive training, participate in inspection teams, inspect and participate in other work (hereinafter referred to as going to work on other tasks) assigned or transferred by competent authorities to arrange other teachers to teach instead".
According to the Ministry of Education and Training, although educational institutions have enough assigned teachers, in reality, there is still a situation where teachers have to teach more than the prescribed teaching hours without being paid for overtime teaching salaries.
To ensure that teachers who teach extra hours are paid for their allowances, ensure fairness in assigning tasks between teachers in the same educational institution and the payment of overtime wages in accordance with the requirements of implementing the education program, Circular No. 21 stipulates a number of binding conditions.
The Circular stipulates that the total number of extra teaching periods in a school year of all teachers must not be higher than the maximum total of extra teaching periods in a school year of the educational institution that the educational institution is allowed to pay. In which, the total number of extra teaching periods paid by educational institutions is the total number of periods that need to be implemented for all tasks minus the total number of standard periods of all teachers present in practice.
How to calculate overtime pay for teachers
At the same time, it is stipulated that the total number of extra teaching periods in a school year for each teacher must not exceed 200 periods.
Supplementing regulations on the time of payment of overtime salary for teachers
The new Circular stipulates that the payment of overtime wages for teachers will be made after the end of the school year. However, in the case of teachers retiring, quitting jobs, being transferred, or transferred, the payment of overtime teaching wages will be made at the time of the decision to retire, quit jobs, be transferred, or transferred by the competent authority.
Circular No. 21 takes effect from the date of promulgation (September 23, 2025). Educational institutions shall base on the regulations to develop separate regulations of the unit to ensure that the new Circular is implemented from the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year.
In particular, determining the total maximum number of extra teaching periods in a school year for which educational institutions are paid overtime pay, making an estimate of overtime pay and sending it to competent authorities for approval and funding allocation. At the same time, it will be the basis for assigning and arranging the tasks of teachers appropriately, ensuring the rights of teachers, in accordance with the funding source for paying overtime teaching salaries.
