Employee, freelancer or collaborator?
An employee means payslips and Social Security, and the least legal risk. A freelancer means less paperwork, but only fits a teacher who runs their own business. A collaborator costs you nothing, but the students are theirs.
| Option | What it costs you | Main risk | Paperwork |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employee (employment contract) | Salary from the collective agreement tables, plus the employer's Social Security contributions | A fixed cost, even in months with fewer students | Written contract (required for part-time and fijo discontinuo), Social Security registration before day one, contract reported to the employment office within 10 days and monthly payslips |
| Freelance teacher (invoices you) | Their invoice, per hour or per course, with no Social Security contributions for you | If they work like staff, the law presumes an employment contract (falso autónomo) | Service agreement, their monthly invoice and the IRPF withholding (15%, or 7% in their first years) you pay to Hacienda |
| Collaborator (with their own students) | Nothing: they pay you a room fee or a share | The students are theirs and leave with them | Room rental or collaboration agreement; each side invoices its own customers |
This table is general information. Which option fits depends on how the teacher really works, not on what the contract calls it: check your case with a gestor or a labour lawyer.
Hiring an employee: contract and collective agreement
Teachers you employ at a language school are covered by the state collective agreement for non-official teaching. Put the contract in writing and register the teacher with Social Security before their first class.
The X Convenio colectivo de enseñanza y formación no reglada applies to private companies teaching non-official courses anywhere in Spain and runs until 31st of December 2027. It sets the salary tables and the contract types you can use: read it before you agree a salary.
For a school year from September to June, the agreement allows fijo discontinuo contracts, full or part time, under article 16 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores: the contract is permanent, the teacher works during the school year and the school calls them back when the next one starts. It must be in writing, with the length of the activity period and the working hours.
Before the first class, register the teacher with Social Security: the registration goes in before they start working. Then report the contract to the public employment office within the next 10 days.
If they'll teach children or teenagers, ask for the negative certificate from the sex offences registry before their first class with minors (LOPIVI, article 57).
A freelance teacher: when is it a falso autónomo?
A freelance teacher who invoices you is legal when they really run their own business. If they work inside your organisation and by your rules, the law presumes an employment contract, whatever the paper says.
The Estatuto de los Trabajadores presumes an employment contract between anyone who provides a service on someone else's behalf, within their organisation and direction, and whoever pays them for it. These signs point that way:
- You set their timetable and they can't turn down classes.
- The students are yours: they enrol with you and pay you.
- They teach in your classrooms, with your materials and your method.
- They get a fixed amount every month, not a price per job.
- Your school is their only client.
If a freelance teacher earns at least 75% of their income from your school, they may count as an economically dependent self-employed worker (TRADE), a status with its own rules in the self-employment law.
When a freelance teacher invoices your school, you withhold 15% IRPF from each invoice (7% in the year they start and the next two, if they tell you in writing) and pay it to Hacienda. Teaching at someone else's academy goes in the professional section of the IAE: our IAE guide explains it.
A collaborator with their own students
A collaborator is another teacher with their own business who teaches their own students in your space. You add classes without hiring anyone, but the students are their customers, not yours.
You can agree a room fee per hour or a share of what they charge. Put it in writing: who sets the price, who takes the payment, who the student deals with and how either side ends the agreement.
If the students pay you, you set the timetable and they teach under your school's name, it stops being a collaboration: it becomes a freelance or employment relationship, with the risks above.
How to hire your first teacher, step by step
Write down the job before you post it, choose the contract with your gestor and watch a demo lesson before you decide. Sign everything before the teacher's first class.
- 1
Write down the job
Languages, levels, ages, hours a week, timetable and whether it's in person or online. This decides the contract, not the other way round.
- 2
Do the numbers
Compare what one hour of their teaching costs you (salary and Social Security, or their invoice) with what students pay you for that hour. The difference has to cover rent, software and your own time.
- 3
Look where teachers are
Your students and ex-students, teachers you trust, university language departments, teacher groups on social media and job boards for teachers.
- 4
Ask for a demo lesson
Ask for a 20-minute lesson with a real level and real goals, or sit in on one of their classes. Watch how they correct, how much the student talks and how they plan the next lesson.
- 5
Sign before the first class
A written contract or service agreement, Social Security registration for an employee, the sex offences certificate if they'll teach minors and a confidentiality and data protection clause, because they'll see your students' data.
- 6
Hand over properly
Share levels, materials, how you take attendance and how you report to families. Start with one or two groups and review how it's going after the first month.
Non-solicitation clauses: keeping your students when a teacher leaves
A non-solicitation clause asks a teacher not to take your students with them. It helps, but no clause works on its own: what protects you is students who enrol, pay and talk with the school.
A non-solicitation clause says the teacher won't offer lessons to the school's students, directly or through someone else, while they work with you and for a period after. It's not the same as a non-compete, which stops them working for another school or on their own.
For employees, a non-compete after the contract ends can't last more than two years for technical staff or six months for other workers, and it's only valid if you have a real business interest and pay the teacher adequate compensation. With a freelance teacher, the clause goes in the service agreement.
Whether a clause holds up depends on how it's written and on each case, so ask a labour lawyer or your gestor to draft it, and don't copy one from the internet. For the rest of your paperwork, see the legal requirements for a language school and our guide to tutoring contracts and GDPR.
So that your students' relationship is with the school, not only with the teacher:
- Students enrol and sign with the school, not with the teacher.
- Payments go to the school, not to the teacher.
- Messages go through the school's channels, so teachers don't need each student's personal phone number.
- Levels, notes and progress reports live in the school's system, so another teacher can take over.
- Pay your teachers well and on time: a happy teacher has no reason to leave with your students.
From one teacher to a team
SmartCookie Teams gives each teacher their own courses and calendar, and you see the whole team's students, payments and attendance in one place. Try it for 14 days, no card.