If you are using TutorCruncher in the UK, and are working alongside self-employed Tutors who act as contractors, then there are certain operational requirements that your business has to follow in order to remain compliant with UK regulations. We’ve built a specific workflow with this in mind, and getting your TutorCruncher platform set up for this is straightforward and easy.

You can use TutorCruncher as an employment agency, an employment business, or a hybrid of both. Read about what it means to be an employment agency or an employment business as per HMRC guidelines here. For more detailed information on how these regulations specifically apply to tutoring companies, see the Tutors’ Association’s article on Achieving Compliance with the Law.

As per HMRC guidelines:

“Employment agencies find work for work-seekers who are employed and paid by employers. This is often called ‘permanent employment’ because once the worker has been taken on, they’re an employee of the company they’re working for. However, different rules apply to entertainment and modelling.”

For tutoring companies, this means that you cannot collect payment on your Tutor’s behalf; the payment has to go directly from the Client to the Tutor and the Client will be aware of the amount you get as your commission and the amount that the Tutor gets.

As per HMRC guidelines:

“Employment businesses (also sometimes known as agencies) engage a work-seeker under a contract who then works under the supervision of someone else. This is normally called ‘temporary agency work’ or ‘temping’. Workers under these arrangements are paid by the business instead of the company they’re supplied to.”

For tutoring companies, this means that your company works with employed (or subcontracted self-employed) Tutors who provide services on behalf of your company to your Clients. This is the more traditional method that most companies will be familiar with, and the default workflows on TutorCruncher assume this is your model. Nonetheless, it is important to note that, in order to operate in this way and remain compliant, you are required to charge VAT on the entire fee - both your commission rate and the Tutor's pay rate.

Yes - the employment agency workflow works on a per-Client basis, meaning that you can act as an employment agency with some Clients while acting as an employment business for others.

To enable/disable the employment agency workflow for a Client, simply navigate to that Client’s page and select Actions > Edit Profile before expanding the ‘Accounting & Client Manager’ tab. There you will find the “Operate as Employment Agency” Override dropdown menu, from which you can choose whether to follow the branch setting or override that setting and act as an employment agency/business with that Client.

Enabling an employment agency override for a Client.