Tuition Services (Sole Trader) Agreements
These Tuition Agreements can be applied to various types of services provided by individuals or small businesses on a one to one basis including:
· Tutors/teachers who teach academic and other subjects to children or adults, e.g. Music, Maths, English, etc.
· Tutors, mentors, coaches who provide any training, instruction etc. in academic, business/commercial, IT/technical, practical, creative subjects, or foreign languages, or in life skills.
These Tuition Services (Sole Trader) Agreements contain templates for the provision of such services to individual clients as “consumers”, i.e. for the client’s private (not business) use.
Application of the relevant template will ensure that both the self-employed individual teacher who provides these services and their client have a clear picture of what is to be provided and how it is to be provided. Both parties will be made aware of their respective obligations, particularly those relating to the provision of services and payment for those services.
In addition, these terms and conditions will underscore the qualifications, skills and experience of the teacher, thus providing reassurance to the client and enhancing the business of the provider.
These templates are only for use where the provider is an individual working on a sole trader basis. If the provider is a company which engages individuals to teach the company’s clients, you should instead use one of the Tuition Services (Company) Agreements .
Tuition Services (Sole Trader) Agreements is part of Business . Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Business for 1 year.
Frequently Asked Questions
I am a private tutor. What contract do I need with my students or their parents? +
Use a tuition services agreement written for a self-employed sole trader. It sets out what you will teach, how and when, the fees and payment, cancellation and rescheduling and each side's responsibilities, which prevents most disputes and reassures clients about your qualifications and approach. Because your client is a private individual, the terms need to reflect consumer law. These Simply-Docs templates are for one-to-one tuition of children or adults, with a separate version for tuition businesses.
Do my private clients have a right to cancel and get a refund? +
Often yes. Where you agree the tuition at a distance, for example online or by phone, or away from your own business premises, for example in the client's home, the client is usually a consumer with a 14-day right to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. If they ask you to start lessons within that period, you can charge for what you have already delivered, and once a service is fully performed with their agreement the cancellation right is lost. Setting this out in your terms avoids arguments.
What are my legal obligations to a private client under consumer law? +
As a trader supplying a service to a consumer, you must perform the tuition with reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and information you give about the service, such as what is covered or your qualifications, can become binding. You also have to give certain pre-contract information and handle cancellation correctly under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. Clear written terms help you meet these duties and show the client what to expect. The tuition templates are built around this.
Do I need a DBS check to tutor children, and can I get one as a self-employed tutor? +
A DBS check is not always legally required for private tutoring, but tutoring children is eligible for an Enhanced check and parents increasingly expect one. The position improved on 21 January 2026: self-employed workers, including private tutors giving lessons directly to children, can now apply for an Enhanced check, with a barred list check where eligible, through a registered umbrella body, without needing an employer to do it for them. Previously a self-employed tutor could obtain only a basic check on themselves.
I run a tuition business with several tutors, not just myself. Is this the right contract? +
No. These templates are for an individual tutor working as a self-employed sole trader who teaches clients personally. If you run a company that engages tutors to teach your clients, you should use a Tuition Services (Company) Agreement instead, which is drafted for a business supplying tuition through others. Simply-Docs offers the company versions in the IR35 and Other Company Agreements group.
