Absolutely abysmal pay. I was contracted to work for them for a year at 13,000 rmb per month which equates to about £16,000 per annum as of December 2016. This is - quite frankly - ridiculous and given the fact that I hold a First Class Honours degree somewhat insulting. And, what makes it worse, is that was my gross pay! Ignoring the 20% tax bracket which would have reduced what was already a small sum even further.
Indeed, so long as you graduate with a 2:1 Bachelor of Arts you can easily get paid a base of at least £20,000 which is especially important given I was to be located in Beijing where the cost of living is significantly more. My base is currently £24,000 a year (net) with room for additional KPIs to bring it to approximately £30,000 which I feel is much fairer and recognises me as an individual and not simply a "cheap" employee who they can abuse for long work hours under the pretext of having, "an amazing experience which will change your life".
I seriously recommend looking at over companies and doing a little bit of investigation. You will be shocked - as I was - at the difference. Indeed, I even work less hours than I would have at English First. Moreover, the benefits are often similar (flight back, TEFL covered, Visa help etc.) and can often be better if you look at the right companies or negotiate a little.
As an aside, their "TEFL worth £500" is a joke which could have been written by a 12 year old. It's full of lazy mistakes (including spelling errors!) and little attention to detail is evident throughout the course. The assignments are pointless and the course doesn't prepare you in the slightest to teach; although in fairness not many online TEFLs' do. Indeed, I don't believe it is even accredited by anyone other than themselves so they can price it however they want and it is likely to be useless once you leave.
