Case 1
- Your pay-scale bracket
- A 13 entry, or höh. Dienst Förder-/Realschule
- Employment fraction
- 100%
- Extra lessons this month
- 4
142.04
Open with these valuesTeacher Overtime Pay Calculator (North Rhine-Westphalia)
142.04€
Result: 142.04 €North Rhine-Westphalia pays nothing for fewer than four extra lessons in a calendar month, and from four lessons on it pays for every one of them, starting with the first. At the A 13 higher-service rate of 41.52 € a lesson, four lessons are 166.08 € and three lessons are zero.
The numbers at a glance
Held fixed: Your pay-scale bracket A 13 entry, or höh. Dienst Förder-/Realschule, Employment fraction 100 %.
| Extra lessons this month | Result |
|---|---|
| 0 | 0.00 |
| 1 | 0.00 |
| 2 | 0.00 |
| 3 | 0.00 |
| 4Your value | 142.04 |
| 5 | 177.55 |
| 6 | 213.06 |
| 7 | 248.57 |
| 8 | 284.08 |
Worked examples
Case 2
- Your pay-scale bracket
- Höherer Dienst Gymnasium/Gesamtschule/BK
- Employment fraction
- 100%
- Extra lessons this month
- 10
415.20
Open with these valuesCase 3
- Your pay-scale bracket
- Gehobener Dienst, below A 12
- Employment fraction
- 50%
- Extra lessons this month
- 2
48.26
Open with these valuesHow it's calculated
pay = lessons × rate, but only if lessons ≥ 4 × fraction
- StepPick the bracket your entry office and school type put you in.
- StepEnter your employment fraction — the threshold shrinks with it.
- StepEnter the extra lessons taught in the calendar month.
- ResultBelow the threshold the answer is zero; at or above it every lesson is paid.
What this number means
Overtime in the German school service is not paid by the hour worked but by the lesson taught, at a flat rate that depends on the entry office of your Lehramt and on the school type — not on the pay grade you have reached. North Rhine-Westphalia sets those rates through § 4 of the Mehrarbeitsvergütungsverordnung, and the state salary office publishes the table. The rates on this page took effect in April 2026, when the state law raised them by 2.8 percent. Before that they had stood since February 2025. The threshold is the part that surprises people. Fewer than four extra lessons in a calendar month are not compensable at all, but four lessons are paid in full, from the first lesson onward — it is a cliff, not a deductible. Part-time teachers reach that cliff sooner: the minimum shrinks in proportion to the employment fraction, so a teacher at 50 percent needs two lessons. A yearly ceiling of 288 lessons also applies. Only lessons actually taught count, and they must be ordered or approved in writing; conferences, parents' evenings and school trips are not compensable overtime.
The rates come from the state salary office
Landesamt für Besoldung und Versorgung NRW publishes the table 'Stundensätze der Mehrarbeitsvergütung gem. § 4 MVergV'. The column used here is the one headed April 2026.
Three lessons pay nothing, four pay everything
The four-lesson minimum is a qualifying threshold, not an excess. Miss it by one lesson and the month pays zero; reach it and every lesson counts, including the first three.
North Rhine-Westphalia only
Civil-service pay is set by each German state. These four rates and this threshold apply in NRW; another state has its own table and may have a different minimum.
Your Bezügestelle does the binding sum
This page is an estimate, not legal or pay advice. The LBV compares actual and target lessons for the month, and cancelled lessons can move you across the threshold in either direction.
Commonly misread
Only the lessons above the threshold get paid.
From four lessons on, every lesson of the month is paid, the first one included. Below four, none of them is.
The rate follows the pay grade I am actually in.
It follows the entry office of your Lehramt and the school type. An A 14 teacher at a Gymnasium is paid the same lesson rate as an A 13 colleague there.
A part-time teacher also needs four lessons.
The minimum shrinks with the employment fraction, so half a post needs two lessons. That is the same proportional rule that cuts the salary.
A cancelled lesson still counts as one I taught.
Only lessons actually taught are compensable. A lesson listed as overtime but not held drops out, whatever the reason.
Reference table
| Bracket | Rate from April 2026 | Rate from Feb 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Gehobener Dienst, below A 12 | 24.13 € | 23.47 € |
| A 12, or höherer Dienst GS/HS | 29.90 € | 29.09 € |
| A 13, or höherer Dienst Förder-/Realschule | 35.51 € | 34.54 € |
| Höherer Dienst Gym/Gesamtschule/BK | 41.52 € | 40.39 € |
Questions
How much is a teacher's overtime lesson worth in NRW?
Between 24.13 € and 41.52 € per lesson, depending on the entry office of your Lehramt and the school type. The rates took effect in April 2026 and are published by the state salary office.
Why did my four extra lessons pay nothing?
Most likely some of them were not actually taught, or a cancelled duty lesson was offset against them. The month has to reach four compensable lessons before anything is paid.
Does the threshold shrink for part-time teachers?
Yes. The minimum lesson count is reduced in proportion to the employment fraction, so a teacher on a half post needs two lessons rather than four.
Is there an upper limit?
Yes, 288 overtime lessons per calendar year in the NRW school service. That works out at 24 lessons a month if they are spread evenly.
Do parents' evenings and conferences count?
No. Only teaching counts as compensable overtime, and it has to be ordered or approved in writing. Conferences, parents' evenings, exams and school trips are excluded by name.
Sources and last check
Information, not financial advice.