Teachers' overtime and school trips in 2026. After the Supreme Court's judgment, there are still no regulations
Although the Supreme Court already ruled in 2025 that teachers' work beyond the standard working time is considered overtime, the Ministry of Education has still not presented clear rules for their settlement. Regulating the issue primarily affects multi-day trips organized in spring, in which children and young people are cared for 24 hours a day, which exceeds the working time of caregivers. Talks between the unions and the ministry are ongoing, but the ZNP is against introducing changes to the Teacher's Charter.
How long does a teacher work? “The 18-hour myth still circulates.”
The dispute over overtime results from the imprecise and task-oriented definition of teachers' working time. The Teacher's Charter states that teachers are obliged to work a 40-hour week, during which they perform three types of duties:
- Teaching, educational and care activities with or for students,
- Other classes and activities resulting from the school's statutory tasks,
- Classes and activities related to preparation for classes, self-education and professional development.
The most important part of a teacher's duties are the so-called hours at the blackboard – for people employed in primary schools and high schools it is 18 hourswhich, however, does not take into account other duties. Magdalena Kaszulanis, Spokeswoman of the Polish Teachers' Union, draws attention to the specificity of working time in education, pointing out that according to the Educational Research Institute, the average working week of a teacher is 47 hours a week, which is spent on performing up to 54 different activities.
– There is still a myth about 18 hours of work. 18 hours is fake news that undermines the role and importance of the teaching profession. People making such simplification ignore other activities, such as: educational and care activities, activities resulting from the school's statutory tasks (such as conducting meetings with parents, participating in meetings of the pedagogical council), preparation for conducting classes, creating documentation of the course of teaching and school work, further education and professional development, cooperation with parents and specialists. Teachers do some of this work in their homes, so this work goes unnoticed. – comments the ZNP Spokeswoman.
The belief that teachers work only a few hours a day is still alive in society, as evidenced by comments on social media. Education workers regularly remind us that work at school involves not only lessons, but also preparation for classes, meetings with parents, responses to messages, trips, pedagogical councils, etc., which is often physically and mentally taxing.
“What overtime – you work 18 hours!”
This sentence is one of the biggest myths about Polish schools.
A teacher's full-time job is 40 hours a week.
However, the working hours – i.e. hours with students – depend on the type of work and are usually 18, 22, 25 or 30 hours.But… pic.twitter.com/AOYQNbdSmd
— Marcin Józefaciuk (@M_Jozefaciuk) March 11, 2026
Overtime and extra hours in schools are something else
In the dispute over teacher's working time, there are two terms that, although they sound similar, have different meanings: overtime and overtime. The difference between them is explained by Magdalena Kaszulanis from ZNP:
Overtime hours are hours specified in the Teacher's Charter. These are hours worked over and above the full-time salary, e.g. over 18 hours of work. Overtime hours are hours worked in excess of the weekly working time standard, i.e. more than 40 hours of work per week.
Several days school trips, which are currently in dispute, are a prime example of overtime. The teacher is responsible for students 24 hours a day, but does not receive additional remuneration for this, which he should receive by law. This results from the Supreme Court's ruling of February 26, 2025 stating that work performed by a teacher beyond the standard time specified in the Teacher's Charter constitutes overtime work within the meaning of the Labor Code, and this involves bonuses from the employer.
The Supreme Court's position opened the way to claims for remuneration for work during trips, competitions or 24-hour shifts, but unfortunately the Ministry of National Education has not yet implemented appropriate solutions in this regard. In the meantime, there was also a problem with overtime hours, as it turned out that teachers were not paid for missed lessons when students participated in trips. The lack of appropriate regulation led to the cancellation of class outings and the need to quickly amend the regulations, which finally came into force in 2026. Currently, teachers who cannot conduct lessons for reasons beyond their control receive remuneration for their readiness to work, but the principal may entrust them with tasks resulting from the school's statutory tasks within the allocated overtime hours.
Will there be an allowance for school trips?
Since the beginning of March 2026, the Ministry of Education has been holding meetings of the working group on teachers' remuneration, during which the issue of overtime allowance is discussed. According to ZNP information, The Ministry of Education presented the trade unionists with an initial proposal of compensation depending on the length of the trip and the amount of remunerationhowever, it is currently unknown what it might look like. The Ministry of National Education confirms that talks are taking place between trade unions and local government officials, but details will be provided to interested parties after the consultations.
Trade unionists are against changes to the Teacher's Charter, pointing out that settlement of teachers' overtime should be based on the Labor Code.
In February 2025, the Supreme Court issued a resolution stating that teachers' work exceeding the 40-hour weekly working time standard constitutes overtime work. The solutions contained in the Labor Code should also be applied to teachers, i.e. allowance for overtime work. No additional regulations are needed. We do not support the proposal to record hours, because it will be another bureaucratic burden. The Supreme Court did not indicate the need to amend teaching pragmatics in any of the theses of the judgment. He pointed out – only and as much as – the obligation to apply the code standards on overtime work to teachers. – responds Magdalena Kaszulanis, press spokesman for the Polish Teachers' Union.
Sławomir Wittkowicz from WZZ “Forum-Oświata” in an interview for Dziennik Gazeta Prawna talked about problems with financing the new allowance for teachers, which will fall on the managing bodies – local governments. The lack of specific arrangements regarding the amount of compensation for overtime hours is said to be due to ongoing talks with the Minister of Finance. and reluctance to increase spending on education. The chairman of the “Education Forum” directly states that the Labor Code should apply to overtimeand remuneration paid for each hour over 40 hours per week, however, the statutory limit (150 hours per year) should be taken into account, which would require changes in the facilities. Despite this, according to the union representative, schools should not have problems with settling overtime hours, as they have appropriate documentation of both teaching activities and training and improving teachers' qualifications.
