How many hours will I actually be expected to teach each week—and is there a legal limit?

The General Labor Law Framework

Under the PRC Labor Contract Law, all employees in China—including foreign teachers—are covered by the standard working hour system:

• No more than 8 hours per day
• No more than 40 hours per week
• At least one full rest day

This means that even if your contract labels you as a “foreign expert” rather than a regular employee, the baseline protection of a 40-hour work week still applies.

Crucially, this 40-hour limit covers total working hours, not just classroom teaching.

Lesson planning, grading, office hours, meetings, and required school events all count toward that total.

A contract that says “20 teaching hours per week” may look manageable, but if it also requires 15 hours of office presence and mandatory weekend activities, you could easily exceed the legal threshold without realizing it.

Before you accept a teaching load, make sure the contract wording protects you. Read Contract Clauses Decoded: A Guide for Foreign Educators.

What About Teaching Hours Specifically?

While there is no national law stating “foreign teachers may not exceed X teaching hours per week,” a widely observed reference point has emerged from university practice and work permit guidelines:

Many universities explicitly cap foreign teachers at this level. For example:

• Hebei University states a maximum of 16 teaching hours per week for language teachers.
• Guizhou Normal University similarly specifies that foreign teachers should not exceed 16 hours of teaching per week.

Universities that set minimum rather than maximum requirements often land in the same range:

• Language-course foreign teachers are typically required to teach no fewer than 14 hours per week.
• Professional-course teachers may be required to teach no fewer than 8 to 10 hours per week.

The overlap between these minimums and the commonly cited 16-hour maximum suggests that 12 to 16 teaching hours per week is the standard full-time teaching load for foreign teachers at Chinese universities.

It is worth noting that some institutions set higher ceilings.

A contract template from one polytechnic, for instance, specifies 14 to 18 teaching hours per week, with overtime pay of 150 RMB per hour for anything above 18 hours.

This is legal because the 16-hour figure is a common practice, not a statutory cap—but if your contract exceeds it, you should ensure that overtime compensation is clearly stated.

Part-Time Teaching: A Separate Rule

Many foreign teachers supplement their income by teaching at more than one institution. This is where the rules become stricter.

Chinese law generally prohibits foreign teachers from working for more than one employer without proper authorization.

The draft Measures for the Appointment and Management of Foreign Teachers states that within a single appointment period:

• A foreign teacher may only sign a contract with one educational institution.
• A foreign teacher may not have cumulative part-time teaching time exceeding their teaching time at the primary institution.

Moreover, if you work part-time for a single employer, you are legally classified as a part-time worker only if you average:

• No more than 4 hours per day
• And 24 hours per week

Exceeding this threshold reclassifies you as a full-time worker, triggering a different set of obligations and protections.

For most foreign teachers, the safest approach is to confirm in writing that any additional teaching is approved by both your primary employer and the local authorities.

Overtime: What You Are Entitled To

If your employer asks you to teach beyond the agreed hours, Chinese labor law requires overtime compensation.

• Normal working day: at least 150% of your normal hourly wage.
• Rest day without compensatory time off: at least 200%.
• Statutory holiday: at least 300%.

Some university contracts handle this differently—for example, by specifying a fixed overtime rate (such as 150 RMB per hour) for teaching hours beyond the standard load.

This is permissible, but you should verify that the rate is at least equivalent to your regular hourly wage multiplied by 1.5.

If the contract is silent on overtime, the statutory rates above will apply.

What to Check Before You Sign

1. Is the teaching-hour number in the main contract?

Some schools place teaching hours in a separate “schedule” or “duty description” document. If that document is not referenced in the main contract, it may not be legally binding—and the school could change it without your consent.

2. What does “one teaching hour” mean?

A 45-minute class period is standard, but some institutions count a 60-minute clock hour as one teaching hour. Clarify this in writing.

3. Are office hours and preparation time included?

If your contract says “20 teaching hours” but requires 40 hours of campus presence, the actual workload is closer to the latter.

4. Is overtime compensation specified?

If your contract allows the school to assign additional hours without stating how you will be paid, you may have difficulty claiming compensation later.

5. Are weekend and evening classes included in the calculation?

Some universities schedule foreign teachers for weekend classes. Unless you agree, weekend teaching should be counted as overtime or rest-day work.