Employment Status for Instrumental and Vocal Teachers

This guide is designed to help instrumental and vocal teachers – both in and out of schools – understand important information about their employment status and rights.

The guide covers the following topics: 

• What is employment (including zero-hour)? 
• What is self-employment? 
• How IR35 legislation affects you 
• Teaching agencies and your rights 
• Music teacher co-operatives 

Employment as an instrumental or vocal teacher used to be simple. You were either ‘employed’ by a music service, school, college or university, or ‘self-employed’ – working at home, visiting pupils’ homes or teaching in a private studio. 

Today, various factors have combined to create a confusing and uncertain working environment, often featuring bogus self-employment, the inappropriate use of zero-hour contracts and other questionable practices. 

This guide will help instrumental and vocal teachers understand the fundamentals of employment status and empower them to ask the right questions, challenge contracts as appropriate and, if necessary, walk away from an offer that potentially exploits their professionalism and skill.