German Court Awards Financial Compensation for Overworked Principal

A retired Hannover elementary school principal receives €31,435 for documented overtime, while a similar claim from a part-time principal is denied.

The Lower Saxony Higher Administrative Court (OVG) ruled in favor of a retired elementary school principal from Hannover, granting financial compensation for excessive overtime worked between November 2017 and July 2022.
The principal documented his overtime in detail, including participation in a study showing widespread overwork among school leaders, leading to the court's acknowledgment of structural work overload.
A similar claim from a part-time principal in Osnabrück was rejected due to insufficient documentation of overtime hours, highlighting the importance of detailed records.
The court's decision reignites calls from the Education and Science Workers' Union (GEW) for an official system to track teachers' working hours to address systemic overwork.
The case underscores challenges in the education sector, with increased workloads attributed to new responsibilities like inclusion initiatives, mandatory consultations, and organizational inefficiencies.