Education Secretary Sonny Angara has doubled the vacation service credits of public school teachers from 15 to 30 days under new guidelines introduced by DepEd Order No. 13, s. 2024.

The updated guidelines streamline the administration of vacation service credits, which allow teachers to offset absences due to illness or personal reasons, or to recover salary deductions during vacation periods.

The revised order entitles incumbent teachers with at least one year of service, as well as newly hired teachers appointed within four months after the start of classes, to 30 days of vacation service credits annually. Additionally, newly hired teachers whose appointments are issued four months after the start of classes will receive 45 days of vacation service credits per year.

One notable improvement is the provision for calculating service credits beyond regular work hours.

For every hour of eligible service rendered during school days, teachers will earn 1.25 hours of vacation service credits. If the service is rendered during Christmas or summer breaks, weekends, or holidays, this will be equivalent to 1.5 hours of vacation service credits per hour.

Teachers assigned to perform ancillary tasks or additional teaching-related duties outside of their regular hours will also benefit from the new guidelines. These tasks include attending training sessions on weekends or holidays, conducting remedial or enhancement classes, election-related duties, parent-teacher conferences, and home visits.

In cases where teaching overload is not compensated through overload pay, teachers will be credited with 1.25 hours of vacation service credits for every hour of additional teaching, on top of their 30-day entitlement.

Approval of vacation service credits will require authorization from the schools division superintendent or another designated authority.

The new guidelines reflect DepEd’s commitment to address the evolving demands on teachers and ensure that they are properly compensated for additional work, particularly during periods like summer or long vacations.

It also aims to safeguard teachers’ net take-home pay by recognizing their participation in DepEd-led activities at the national, regional, and division levels, alongside its partners and stakeholders.