To ensure that teachers are fairly compensated for additional responsibilities, the Department of Education (DepEd) has issued an order setting guidelines on the payment of overtime services of teachers.

Under DepEd Order No. 26, s. 2025, public school teachers who go beyond their six-hour teaching load will now be compensated for their overtime work.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the move underscores DepEd’s commitment to value teachers’ sacrifices and align with the President’s push to provide additional support and benefits.

The guidelines specify that overtime pay applies only to teaching-related assignments performed within schools, ensuring that extra hours spent in service of learners are properly recognized and rewarded.

Teachers will be compensated at 125 percent of their hourly rate for overtime rendered on regular workdays, and at 150 percent for services rendered on weekends, holidays, and special non-working days.

DepEd clarified that at least two hours of overtime will be granted monetary compensation during weekdays, with less than two hours converted into vacation service credits.

Meanwhile, up to four hours of overtime will be compensated monetarily, with any excess converted into vacation service credits, during weekends, holidays, and special non-working days.

The policy applies to all full-time DepEd-employed teachers, including those in the Alternative Learning System under permanent, substitute, and provisional appointments.

Teachers are reminded that overtime must be pre-approved by the school head or authorized official and rendered only when strictly necessary.

This latest issuance builds on reforms introduced last year, when Secretary Angara signed DepEd Memorandum No. 53, s. 2024, which set out concrete implementation guidelines for Department Order 5, s. 2024. The Order streamlined the rationalization of teachers’ workload in public schools and the payment of teaching overload.