Contractor agreement for a driving instructor with a school

Driving schools engage instructors on a franchise: the instructor pays a weekly fee for a dual-controlled car, pupils and the school's brand, and keeps the lesson fees. The agreement has to make that arrangement work for both sides: what the fee buys, who the pupils belong to, who insures and maintains the car, what the school may require of the instructor, and what happens to the car and the pupils when the franchise ends. It also has to reflect a self-employed engagement, which the franchise model supports where the instructor runs their own diary. I draft that agreement, for the school or for the instructor, for a fixed fee of £595, delivered in five working days. Status is checked case by case with HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax tool, and no agreement can guarantee an individual's status.

Who this is for

Driving schools and franchise networks in England and Wales engaging approved driving instructors on a franchise, and instructors joining or leaving a school who want the agreement right.

What matters in a driving instructor's franchise agreement

The franchise model and the weekly fee

The agreement should say that the instructor is a self-employed franchisee who pays the school a weekly or monthly fee for the package stated (a dual-controlled car, pupil supply, booking system, branding, marketing), keeps the lesson fees charged to pupils, sets their own lesson prices or follows the school's recommended prices, and is responsible for their own tax; the fee should be stated with what it includes and excludes (fuel, excess, car swaps), how it is paid and reviewed, and the position when the instructor is on holiday or off sick, with interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 where fees are paid late.

Registration and the instructor's obligations

Giving paid driving instruction requires registration as an approved driving instructor, or a trainee licence, under Part V of the Road Traffic Act 1988 beginning at section 123, and the agreement should require the instructor to hold and maintain registration, to tell the school of any standards check outcome, conviction or penalty points, to comply with the registrar's code of practice, to hold the licence and the eyesight the law requires, and to teach to the standard the school expects; the school should not require the instructor to teach in a way that conflicts with the instructor's professional obligations.

The car and who provides it

Where the school provides the car, the agreement should set out the vehicle, its dual controls and livery, the school's obligations to maintain, tax, service and replace it, the instructor's obligations on care, mileage, cleanliness, private use and fuel, the excess the instructor pays on damage, the position on a courtesy car during repairs, and the return of the car on ending; where the instructor provides their own car, the school's requirements for dual controls, livery and insurance should be stated, with the franchise fee reduced accordingly.

Pupils, bookings and whose they are

The agreement should say how the school supplies pupils (a minimum number or none promised, by area and availability), whether the instructor may take their own pupils, who takes bookings and payments (the instructor, or the school with the instructor paid net of the fee), the handling of block bookings and prepaid lessons, and whose client the pupil is: the school's under its franchise model, with a non-solicitation of school-introduced pupils for a reasonable period after leaving, or the instructor's where the instructor brought them; pupil data is held under the UK GDPR by whoever the agreement makes controller.

Insurance, dual controls and vehicle use

The agreement should state who insures the car for driving instruction (usually the school under its fleet policy, with the instructor named and the excess stated, or the instructor under a tuition policy for their own car), that the instructor must not allow unauthorised drivers, must not use the car for hire and reward beyond instruction without cover, and must comply with the Road Traffic Act 1988 requirements on the vehicle and its use; the instructor holds their own public liability cover and the school its own, with the procedure for accidents during lessons set out.

Status, the instructor's business, notice and leaving

An instructor who runs their own diary, sets their own hours and prices, bears the risk of quiet weeks through the fixed fee and may take their own pupils is self-employed, and the agreement should say so; an instructor required to work the school's hours, teach allocated pupils only, follow the school's lesson plans and attend meetings is at risk of being a worker under section 230 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The agreement should run on a right for either side to end on notice (a few weeks), end for breach, loss of registration or non-payment, provide for the return of the car and materials, and deal with pupils as the client provisions say, without a non-compete that stops the instructor teaching in the area.

What it costs

Consultancy or contractor agreement, £595. Drafted for your business. Five working days.

Template set for repeat use, £895. One master agreement plus a short-form schedule you can reuse for every engagement. Five working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the consultancy and contractor agreements page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A clear, express assignment of intellectual property to your business
• Confidentiality provisions that protect your business information
• Restrictive covenants drafted at a scope a court will uphold
• Clear treatment of status, so the arrangement is not accidentally something else
• Payment, deliverables and termination provisions that match how you work
• A reusable structure, so the next engagement costs you nothing

What is not included

• Employment status determinations and off-payroll working assessments, which need your accountant
• Tax advice
• Disputes with a contractor you have already engaged
• Immigration and right to work compliance

Questions I am often asked

Can the school tell a franchised instructor what hours to work?

Not without undermining self-employed status. The school can state the pupil supply and the car's availability; the instructor runs their own diary. A school that wants set hours wants employees.

The instructor damaged the car. Who pays?

The excess the agreement states, with the school's fleet policy covering the rest, unless the damage was caused by misuse the agreement prohibits. The agreement sets the excess and the procedure.

Whose pupils are they when the instructor leaves?

What the agreement says: pupils the school introduced are the school's with a non-solicitation period, pupils the instructor brought are the instructor's. Prepaid lessons should be completed or refunded as the agreement provides.

Related guidance and services

• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Employment contracts and handbooks, £595
• Terms and conditions for a driving school
• Contractor agreement for a self-employed hairdresser

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: October 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.