FILE PHOTO: Filipino teachers undergoing training. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — Public school teachers are entitled for an overtime pay in case they exceed eight hours in their duty, human rights lawyer Atty. Chel Diokno said.
Like other government employees, teachers shall only be required to work eight hours a day, Diokno said in a video uploaded in his Youtube account on Friday.
Citing Section 13 of the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, or the Republic Act No. 4670, and the Department of Education Memorandum No. 291, Series of 2008, Diokno said that the break down for the eight-hour work is six hours for actual classroom teaching, and two hours for other teaching-related duties.
The duties include tasks such as preparation of lesson plans, checking of exercises, attending seminars, consultation with the students’ parents, among others.
Based on the memorandum, public school teachers may render more than six hours of teaching, or more than eight hours of duty, given that they will be given compensation “computed at the same hourly rate of the regular compensation, plus a premium of 25% of the hourly rate.”
The human rights lawyer said overtime applies for the actual teaching or work done within the school premises
“Kung kulang ang pondo, imbes na overtime pay ay dapat bigyan ang nag-overtime na teacher ng service credits equivalent to 1.25 oras para sa bawat oras ng overtime,” Diokno said.
(If the fund is not enough, instead of overtime pay, service credits equivalent to 1.25 hours for each hour of the exceeding time must be given to the teacher who took an overtime.)
Diokno also reminded that proper documents or approval of the school head must be secured in case a teacher will be required to do overtime work.