Revised: 2007-09-12

These are some things to remember when negotiating rates and terms for teaching and training. And please send us your accounts of successful negotiations.

• Teachers and trainers need to be clear about copyright in any supporting material they produce. Academic staff, in particular, tend to assume that everyone in the world is both academic and on staff: and the academic papers they write serve, to a cynical eye, the economic function of advertising, the point of which is to get them a higher salary - so some feel it is no skin off their nose to assign all rights to the college.
• If offered a written contract, go through it with a fine-tooth comb. If none is offered, the teacher should write confirming the engagement and specifying, for example, that they will grant a licence to use supporting material during the year in which they are engaged but that further use will require a separate licence.
• The rates are suggested as minima from which freelances will negotiate upward according to their experience and specialist knowledge.
• We cannot say it often enough: both sides need to be clear on how many hours' actual work is expected, compared to the notional "teaching hours" paid for.
• These do not include paid time off.
• Freelances who are registered for VAT will add it to every invoice.

We welcome feedback from members on these notes.

Generally useful links: