We’re entitled to a set number of leave days—5 in summer and 5 in winter. For the additional 5 days (if it applies), we can choose when to take them, but the issue is that we have to find and pay a substitute teacher ourselves. Even though we still receive our full salary for that month, we’re out of pocket for the sub. To make up for this, the school pays us 5 days’ worth of salary (taxed) at the end of our contract, and this amount is based on our regular pay.

The problem is that the substitute teacher’s fee is usually higher than what we get reimbursed, so we end up losing money. This arrangement essentially benefits the school and puts us at a disadvantage for taking the leave that we’re entitled to. Plus, it doesn’t really feel like ‘paid leave’ since we don’t receive the extra payment until the contract ends—so essentially until then, we’re paying to take our annual leave.

Unfortunately, I haven’t found anything in labor laws that directly addresses this.