Contractor agreement for a tutor

A tuition business either introduces tutors to families, who then engage the tutor directly, or provides tuition itself through tutors it engages, and the agreement with each tutor depends on which. The two models carry different regulatory, safeguarding and status consequences, and a business that runs one while documenting the other has a problem on all three. The agreement has to say which model applies, set the safeguarding requirements that apply to anyone teaching children, and deal with lessons, pay, materials and the families when a tutor leaves. I draft that agreement, for the business or for the tutor, for a fixed fee of £595, delivered in five working days. The agreement describes a self-employed engagement; HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax tool decides status case by case, and no drafting guarantees it.

Who this is for

Tuition agencies, tutoring companies, online tutoring platforms and schools' tuition providers in England and Wales engaging self-employed tutors, and tutors who want an agreement that reflects how they work.

What matters in a tutor's agreement

Agency or provider

A business that introduces tutors to families who then contract with and pay the tutor is likely to be an employment agency under the Employment Agencies Act 1973, subject to the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, including the rules on fees and on terms with work-seekers; a business that contracts with families to provide tuition and engages tutors to deliver it is a provider, and the tutor's contract is with the business. The agreement should state which model is in use, because the obligations to the tutor, to the family and to the regulator follow from it, and a business running a provider model on an agency's paperwork is in neither position.

Safeguarding and checks

Teaching children is a regulated activity under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 where it is frequent or intensive, and the agreement should require the tutor to hold an enhanced disclosure with barred list check obtained under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 regime, to tell the business of any change, to comply with the business's safeguarding policy and code of conduct (no private contact with pupils outside lessons, lessons in appropriate settings, online lessons recorded or with a parent aware), and to report concerns; the business should have the policy, the training and the designated person its model requires, and the agreement should allocate who checks what.

Lessons, cancellations and pay

The agreement should state how lessons are arranged, the rate per lesson or hour and who sets it, the cancellation notice for the family and for the tutor and the fee where a family cancels late, no-shows, travel, how and when the tutor is paid (by the family under the agency model, or by the business under the provider model with the business's commission stated), and interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 where a business pays a tutor late; where the business collects fees for tutors it introduced, it is handling money for others and the agreement should say on what basis.

Teaching materials and intellectual property

Lesson plans, worksheets and resources the tutor creates are the tutor's copyright under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and the agreement should either license them to the business for the engagement or assign the ones created for the business under section 90, while materials the business supplies remain the business's and may not be reused elsewhere; exam board materials and textbooks are used under their own licences, and the agreement should require compliance with them.

Control, cover and worker status

A tutor who accepts or declines pupils, teaches for several businesses and families, sets their own lesson times with the family, uses their own methods and materials and is paid per lesson is self-employed; a tutor given a timetable, a curriculum to follow and an hourly rate, required to attend training and unable to decline work is likely to be a worker under section 230 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 with rights under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 and the Working Time Regulations 1998. Substitution is limited by safeguarding (a substitute must be checked), and the agreement should say that cover is arranged through the business. The agreement reflects the self-employed arrangement where that is the practice.

Families, data and leaving

The agreement should say whose client the family is: under the agency model the family contracts with the tutor and the business is paid for the introduction, with a fee if the tutor and family continue outside the agency for a stated period; under the provider model the family is the business's client and the tutor may not solicit it for a reasonable period. Pupil data is personal data and often concerns children, and the agreement should say who holds what as controller under the UK GDPR, with the tutor keeping only what their role needs and returning or deleting it on leaving.

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

We match tutors with families and take a cut. Are we an employment agency?

If families engage and pay the tutor and your business is paid for the introduction, probably yes, with the Conduct Regulations applying. If families contract with you and you provide the tuition through tutors, you are a provider. The agreement is drafted for whichever model you run.

Can a tutor send a substitute?

Only one the business has checked, because safeguarding does not allow an unchecked adult to teach a child. The agreement routes cover through the business, which is a limit on substitution that the status analysis has to live with.

A family wants to continue with a tutor without us. Can we charge?

Under the agency model the agreement provides for an introduction fee where the family and tutor continue outside the agency within a stated period, which the Conduct Regulations permit if drafted correctly. Under the provider model the tutor may not solicit the family.

Related guidance and services

• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Employment contracts and handbooks, £595
• Contractor agreement for a music teacher
• Terms and conditions for a private tutor

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.