Teacher Overtime: Understanding Directed Time, Additional Hours, and Extra Pay
The question of overtime in teaching is one of the profession's most contentious issues. Unlike most other occupations, teachers have no contractual right to overtime pay. The STPCD (School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document) establishes a framework of directed time and "reasonable additional hours" that governs when and how teachers work — but does not provide a mechanism for overtime payments in the traditional sense.
This guide explains the directed time system, what counts as additional work, the limited circumstances where extra pay may be available, and how your total working hours compare to other professions. Understanding these rules is essential for maintaining work-life balance and ensuring you are fairly compensated for additional responsibilities.
Directed Time: The 1,265-Hour Framework
The STPCD limits the total amount of time a headteacher can direct a teacher to work at 1,265 hours per year. This applies to maintained schools in England and represents the legal maximum for "directed time" — time when you can be required to be at school or performing specific duties.
How 1,265 Hours Breaks Down
Spread across the typical 195-day working year (190 teaching days plus 5 INSET days), 1,265 hours equates to approximately 6 hours and 29 minutes per directed day. However, in practice, directed time is not evenly distributed — some days are longer (parents' evenings, open evenings) and some shorter to compensate. A typical school's directed time budget looks like:
| Activity | Approximate Hours/Year |
|---|---|
| Teaching (contact time) | 680 - 760 |
| PPA (10% of teaching time) | 68 - 76 |
| Registration/tutor time | 60 - 95 |
| Break/lunch duties | 40 - 80 |
| Staff meetings | 50 - 75 |
| Parents' evenings/events | 15 - 30 |
| INSET days | 30 - 33 |
| Assembly and collective worship | 20 - 40 |
| Total directed | Up to 1,265 |
Your School's Directed Time Budget
Every maintained school should have a published directed time budget (sometimes called a "calendar of directed time") that shows how the 1,265 hours are allocated across the year. You have the right to see this document — ask your headteacher or union representative if it has not been shared. If directed time exceeds 1,265 hours, this is a breach of the STPCD.
Reasonable Additional Hours
Beyond directed time, the STPCD requires teachers to work "such reasonable additional hours as may be necessary to enable the effective discharge of the teacher's professional duties." This deliberately vague phrase covers activities like:
- Marking and assessment
- Lesson planning beyond PPA time
- Report writing
- Preparing resources
- Professional development and reading
- Responding to parent emails
There is no upper limit specified for additional hours, but they must be "reasonable." The DfE has acknowledged that teachers work an average of 50+ hours per week during term time, suggesting that a significant portion of teachers' actual working time falls into this unremunerated category. This is a major factor in the ongoing recruitment and retention crisis.
How Extra Duties Are Compensated
While standard overtime pay does not exist for teachers, there are several mechanisms through which additional work can attract extra compensation:
TLR Payments
Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) payments are the primary method for compensating sustained additional responsibility (2026/27 rates):
| TLR Type | Annual Range |
|---|---|
| TLR1 | £10,531 - £17,819 |
| TLR2 | £3,651 - £8,913 |
| TLR3 (fixed-term) | £727 - £3,600 |
TLR1 and TLR2 are ongoing payments for permanent additional responsibilities such as subject leadership, pastoral coordination, or whole-school roles. TLR3 payments are available for fixed-term projects.
Exam Invigilation
Teachers cannot be routinely required to invigilate external examinations under the STPCD. When teachers volunteer for exam invigilation duties, some schools pay an additional daily rate, typically £100-£200 per day. This is at the headteacher's discretion and varies significantly between schools.
Residential Trips
Leading residential school trips often involves working significantly beyond normal hours, including overnight supervision. Some schools pay a daily allowance for residential trips, typically £50-£100 per night. The STPCD does not mandate this, but it acknowledges that residential trips create unique demands. Headteachers may offer time off in lieu as an alternative.
After-School Clubs and Activities
Running after-school clubs and extracurricular activities is voluntary under the STPCD — teachers cannot be directed to run clubs outside of their 1,265 directed hours. Some schools offer small payments for running clubs, while others rely on goodwill. Where payments are made, typical rates range from £20-£40 per session.
Saturday Schools and Revision Sessions
Some schools, particularly those in challenging circumstances or preparing for key examinations, run Saturday sessions or holiday revision classes. These are always voluntary and should attract additional payment. Rates typically range from £150-£250 per day, though some schools offer significantly more. These payments are subject to income tax and National Insurance.
Cover Supervisor Payments
Under the STPCD, teachers can only be required to cover for absent colleagues in circumstances that are not reasonably foreseeable. Rarely-cover clauses protect teachers from routine cover duties. When teachers do provide internal cover beyond what is reasonable, some schools offer additional payments, though this is not universal.
Track Your Hours
Keeping a record of your actual working hours can be invaluable — both for wellbeing and for negotiations. If your total hours consistently exceed 48 per week, you may have grounds for a workload review under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (though teachers can opt out of the 48-hour average). Use our Overtime Calculator to see what your additional hours would be worth if they were paid at standard overtime rates.
Academy Differences
Academies are not bound by the 1,265-hour directed time limit. Some academy trusts specify contractual hours in their employment contracts, which may be higher or lower than the STPCD framework. If you work in an academy, your contract is the key document — check it carefully for any clauses about working hours, additional duties, and expectations around extracurricular activities. Some academy contracts include explicit requirements for Saturday working or extended terms.
Protecting Your Work-Life Balance
The absence of overtime pay makes it all the more important to manage your workload proactively. Strategies include protecting your PPA time fiercely, pushing back on unreasonable requests through your union, using the directed time budget to demonstrate overallocation, and being willing to say no to voluntary commitments when your workload is already unsustainable. The DfE's workload reduction toolkit provides frameworks for schools to review and reduce unnecessary workload.