If you're a sports coach or a dance teacher who offers private or small group lessons and you work privately or are engaged under contract by a school, a day care centre or by a community group then this article has been written especially for you.

There are different ways dance teachers and sports coaches can be employed. Sometimes they can be employees and at other times, contractors. For example, you might do some work as an employee of a club or studio, however in other circumstances,  you are paid directly by the school, the student (or their parents) rather than via an employer. This is where you are responsible for your own protection and that is the focus of the information on this page.

As we considered this topic and had a look at what was already online, we found that there is a lot of information about the obligations of sports coaches and dance teachers in terms of child protection, as you would expect. However, what we couldn’t find much of, in terms of free information, is how coaches and dance teachers can protect themselves when they are running their own business.

Protecting your income and minimising your personal risk

We know that for the vast majority of sports coaches and dance teachers, the hours worked often fit around school hours and holidays. In most cases, this vastly reduces the number of hours in a week you can work. Not to mention that it can limit your income capacity. That’s often why people may look to be engaged by child care centres, schools and out of school hours and vacation care.

You may also be open to offering private sessions or small group sessions to supplement your income.

Given that the nature of this work comes with these constraints, it is essential that you protect your ability to get paid (including being paid on time) and minimise your personal risk.

The way to do this is by having your own set of terms and conditions like those in our editable sports coach contract template and our dance teacher contract template that each venue or student (or their parent or guardian if under 18) agrees to before you work together.

If you are yet to test the waters about how you might be able to work during school hours with schools, child care centres or community groups, going out to them with a contract or agreement for their consideration, demonstrates professionalism.

If you are offering private lessons or small group sessions and being engaged in a less formal setting than a school or care centre, it is essential you still offer the same so you are all on the same page.

Below are the key reasons why sports coaches and dance teachers should ensure they have their own agreement.

Protecting your income 

You may wish to be paid at each lesson on the day. But while that offers flexibility for your clients, it can be difficult for you in terms of no shows or class participants that get caught up in another sport.

Cashflow wise, it's a good idea to set up term fees or establish packages (5, 10 or 20 sessions or pay by the school term). You may prefer a monthly direct debit setup so you receive a steady flow of income or, prefer to be paid at the start of the term or beforehand, in advance. Whatever suits you, detailing what the terms of payment are in your agreement, can go a long way in helping you ensure steady cash flow. 

Setting a notice period for cancellations (e.g. 3 weeks) gives you a financial buffer and time to plan how you might replace that income. You want to avoid having your income drop at short notice and specifying how long you need in your agreement will help with that.

Location and delivery of sessions or classes

If you conduct your coaching sessions or dance lessons in a public place or facility, your terms should specify that the rules of the grounds or facility and your instructions are followed.

Particularly if you conduct your sessions outdoors, you also need to consider including an extreme weather clause. This gives you the ability to cancel or postpone a session without penalty. You may wish to offer make-up sessions in place. This is particularly important where the grounds are owned by an external entity like the local council who make the rules about use of the facility.

If you are engaged by a school, vacation care, dance studio, community group etc, you should also cover that if we experience something like the Covid-19 pandemic again, that you have the ability to continue to deliver your sessions online (and therefore continue to be paid).

If sessions are recorded (and this would only usually be done for remote sessions), you will also want to ensure that your intellectual property and income earning capacity is not impacted. Ensuring they are aware that any recordings are subject to Copyright and that they are not to be used in place of hiring you again, is something to also include in your contract/agreement.

If a student is injured and out for a period of time, you may wish to specify that you will refund the remaining sessions or pause their membership (if they pay monthly etc). There is no right or wrong approach here, it is up to you and worth including in your agreement so there’s clarity for you and your students.

Equipment 

If you are engaged by a child care centre or school, you must ensure that the school or centre holds adequate insurance. You may also require them to provide the set up, whether that be a safe space to deliver your session and/or the equipment such as mats etc. Including this in your contract provides certainty for you and clarity about who is responsible for what. For clarity, you may still need equipment and will most definitely also need your own insurance, but it is all about knowing what you need to supply and protecting your risk before you start the coaching.

Injury, insurance & your risk minimisation

Injury is always possible in sport and dance so it is important for you to be protected if participants do not follow instructions as well as when genuine accidents occur.

This is where provision of permission slips from participants (or their parents/guardians) that agree to their participation, agree to the risks that may present, that they will comply with instructions and release liability in the event of injury or worse. This however, is separate from any outcome that could be attributed to your negligence as a coach or teacher.

Depending on what sport you coach, you may require a specific reference in your agreement that they have to clarify that they are fit to participate. You may also want to specify that there is no guarantee of results or outcome as a result of you as their coach or teacher.

You will require your own public liability insurance for private or group sessions; however, if engaged by a school or child care centre, you must also ensure that they hold relevant insurance too. Detailing this in your agreement is essential (and it is included in our editable template).

Participant behaviour and supervision

If you are engaged to work at a school or child care centre for example, you also need to ensure that their teachers and educators are present. This is especially important as there are sometimes children with health and behavioural issues and it is the teacher or school’s role to supervise those issues while you stick to the technical aspects of why you have been hired - teaching dance or sport.

You don’t want to find yourself in a scenario where you are having to support a student who is unwell or misbehaving by yourself. Including these obligations and expectations in your agreement is essential.

Protecting yourself as a sports coach or dance teacher

We trust you have found the information above helpful. In summary, it is wise to firstly have an agreement in place in any scenario where you are not paid as an employee. Your contract or agreement should detail the following:

• The details of the services you will provide

• The days and times you will provide these services

• The location of where you will deliver your sessions

• Details about who is responsible for the provision and set up of equipment (is it you or will they provide what you need to run your sessions?)

• The price of the session/term etc

• Clear boundaries and expectations about how you are to be paid (e.g. ahead of time, per term payable by Week X, etc.)

• Rescheduling notice requirements

• Cancellation/Termination of engagement and notice periods

• Allow you to subcontract to someone else (e.g. if you are unwell or unable to deliver the sessions yourself)

• Obligations of the Coach/Teacher in delivering your coaching session or dance lesson

• Your legal obligation - up to date Working With Children Check (specific to your State or Territory)

• Your insurance coverage

• Obligations of the Student and Parent/Guardian (payment etc) or the School/Centre engaging you

• Confidentiality of student information

• Disclaimers relating to injury, losses and damages.

Want to ensure you’re on the front foot in protecting yourself as a sports coach or dance teacher? Then take a look at our editable sports coach contract template or our editable  dance teacher contract template which incorporate the most important elements outlined above.

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