Holiday months pay much less (or nothing)

HIGH

What happens

The advertised monthly salary applies to teaching months only. Winter and summer breaks are paid at a fraction — half, a flat low amount, or nothing. The annual figure can be 60-70% of the headline monthly rate.

✅ How to protect yourself

Ask for the ANNUAL figure in writing, and ask what is paid in July/August and January/February specifically. A contract that only states a monthly rate is hiding this.

Real cases (3)

TEFLr/TEFL · Shenzhen · 2025

RMB 14,000/month after probation (2 months) ... Paid summer/winter holiday, half of base salary ... 12-month contract with a ¥25,000 breach penalty

Advertised ¥14,000/mo, but holidays at half. Plus a ¥25,000 penalty for leaving.

source: open the original post

TEFLr/TEFL · Beijing · 2025

¥33,000/month (before tax) during working months ... ¥4,000/month (before tax) during winter/summer breaks

¥33,000 headline collapses to ¥4,000 in break months — a 88% cut.

source: open the original post

chinalifer/chinalife · Unspecified · 2026

my salary is after tax $23k rmb monthly besides summer which is 2 months of 10k rmb each ... the annual salary is divided by 12

¥23,000/mo, but summer months pay ¥10,000.

source: open the original post

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Built from public teacher discussions. Every figure shows its sample size.
Not legal advice · sourced from self-reported forum posts · contract check tool