Policy for Teachers

Independent contractor status
Instructors at Second Language, LLC, are independent contractors.
There are no employees.
Instructors must be legally able to work in the USA and furnish us with their social security number or federal taxpayer id.
Instructors are responsible for paying their federal and state taxes.
Instructors who are receiving Unemployment Compensation must report their earnings as required by law. We pay you monthly, and you are required to report your earnings to the state Department of Labor.

Professional conduct
The student expects the instructor to conduct him/herself in a professional manner. The student has a right to be free from hearing political, religious, or sexual talk, racial, ethnic, or lifestyle bigotry.
The student has a right to be free from hearing put downs, criticizism or disparagement of individuals or classes of people for their real or perceived membership in any group, ethnic origin, or lifestyle.
The student expects the instructor to respect students, clients, and their homes and workplaces and the confidentiality of students’ information.
The student expects the instructor to not misrepresent him/herself regarding his/her country of origin, language fluency and competency to teach.
Instructors who have taught through other language schools have an obligation to the other language schools to respect non-compete agreements with those language schools.

Missed class Policy
If you do not show up for a class, or if you do not inform the student of a schedule change or cancellation at least 24 hours before the class was scheduled, the student has a right to ask you for a make-up class. Sending email is not sufficient notice. If you don’t inform the student in time, and the student shows up for his/her lesson, the student has a right to expect a free lesson from the instructor.
At the end of each session, the student will be happy to confirm the date, time and location of the next session.

Late Policy
The student expects you to arrive 5 minutes before the lesson is scheduled to start. If you arrive late for a class, the student expects a full hour of instruction, or for the class to be made up at a later date.
Most people will not wait more than 15 minutes past the scheduled start time for the arrival of the other party.

Tax Policy
You must give us your tax information on form W9 before we find students for you.
You must fulfill your legal obligations with regard to taxes, as an independent contractor.

Payment Policy
We will pay you for legitimate hours shown on the Class Record Sheet.
In no event will we pay you for more hours than those which the student has paid for.
We will pay you promptly, normally before the 7th day of each month. We will put your check in your folder, or mail it to you, or have our bank mail you a check, if you are not scheduled to teach within a week.
If we are 30 days or more late in paying your bill, we will add 10% to the payment.
If we expect to be out of town when your payment is due, we will send you an estimated payment.
If you earn $600 or more in a year, we will issue an IRS form 1099-MISC, for reporting of income.

Meeting with Students.
We ask the instructor to meet with prospective students before the student commits to taking lessons. We pay you for this meeting for 45 minutes at your regular rate. We suggest you give a 15 minute demonstration lesson.

Keeping Records
The Class Record Sheet is in your folder. The student is expected to initial the Class Record Sheet at the end of the lesson.
If you and the student disagree on the number of hours marked on the Class Record Sheet, the dispute will be resolved in favor of the student.
The student’s initials at the end of every session are essential for you to be paid correctly!
Second Language, LLC will not pay for lessons that the student has not paid for but the instructor has taught.

Weekly Schedule
The schedule of classes is determined when your student enrolls. This schedule is not generally changed, except by agreement with the student. Second Language, LLC needs to know the days and times of your lessons, so that it can open the classroom for your class.
It is not always possible to remain in the classroom past the scheduled end time, because the classroom may be used for another lesson.
The office is closed at 4 PM on Friday, 12 Noon on Saturday, and all day Sunday.

Bad Weather Policy
We suggest that you cancel appointments when the weather forecast is for heavy snow, freezing rain or other extreme weather. Listen to WTIC 1080 radio, or watch WFSB TV for cancellations.

Instructor Evaluations
It is a good idea to ask your students to fill out an instructor evaluation form about once every 12 weeks. If the student wants you to change something, it is a good idea to pay attention to what the student has written.