How Do I get Booked for Lessons?
Lessons are emailed to all instructors in the greater metro area of the lesson. If you are available for the lesson, based on the location and availability of the customer, please reply to the e-mail ASAP. Lessons are booked based upon a number of factors including: response time to email, instructor experience with age group, availability, proximity to location of lesson, client reviews, etc. If you are unable to fully commit to the pack of lessons for that customer, there is no need to reply at all.
We will reply to your email if you are booked with the procedure for contacting the client to set up a schedule. Please follow the procedure outlined in the email and let us know as soon as you have scheduled lessons with the client.
How Do I get Paid?
Instructors are paid after completing half of the lessons and all of the lessons in the package. (ie. for a 8 lesson package you are paid after lesson #4 and lesson #8)
E-mail your timesheet, as an attachment to a new e-mail, to
timesheets@sunsationalswimschool.com. Timesheeets must be sent to the correct email to be paid!! Payment will be issued via check within 10 business days.
Instructions on how to fill out the timesheet are located on the bottom of the Excel timesheet file, a copy of which we e-mailed you. Please follow all directions while filling out your timesheet to ensure your paycheck is sent in a timely manner. Make sure to include your current mailing address. If anything on your timesheet needs to be fixed or there is any confusion we will e-mail you.
What is the Pay?
Instructor pay is based upon the length of time you are at a home and a flat payment of $5 for each pool location you travel to. If you travel to a home for a 30 minute lesson the pay is $15 (half of $20/hr +$5 travel). A 60 minute lesson at one pool location is paid $25, 90 Minutes is paid $35, 120 Minutes is paid $45. We occasionaly e-mail out lessons with extra pay if a local instructor is not available.
Instructor Pay: $20/ hr + $5 per location visited
Total Pay for pre-set Teaching Time at One pool location (includes $5 per trip fee):
30 Minutes = $15
40 Minutes = $18.33
45 Minutes = $20
60 Minutes = $25
90 Minutes = $35
120 Minutes = $45
Am I insured through Sunsational Swim School?
Yes, all Instructors are covered by our company’s $2,000,000 liability policy while teaching our clients. We can send you a copy of the policy if you need to show proof of insurance to a clients housing community pool.
How Do I Earn Bonuses?
Instructors can earn extra money through our bonus system! On the timesheet there is an area labeled “Bonuses”. Below is a list and description of all the bonus possibilities to be earned at any time by instructors:
BONUSES:
$10 – If your client purchases 8 or more additional lessons, at one time, to be taught by you
$10 – If your client posts a positive review, mentioning you by name, on Yelp, Facebook, or Google Reviews. (We send emails to happy clients encouraging them to post a review, max of one bonus per client)
Facebook Bonuses: (Choose 2 max per client, must be one of each)
$1 – For posting a picture of you and your client by the pool on our Facebook page
$1 – For posting a picture of child client with their certificate, or skills chart.
$2 – For posting a video of client in the pool during a lesson (video must include the client swimming or jumping in the pool and swimming back to the wall).
How many lessons will each client take?
Lessons number may vary but we have an 8 lessons minimum for our 30 and 45 minute lessons and a 6 lesson minimum for our 60 minute lessons, per person.
We also have a 12 lesson learn to swim guaranteed package for children aged 3 and older (this is for the private, 30 minute lessons only). We highly recommend a minimum of 3x a week for the guarantee.
For the non-guarantee packages clients may request as little as 1 lesson per week or as many as 7 but the average is 2-3x a week. This information will be included in the initial lesson e-mail sent to instructors.
What if I cannot accommodate any of the times requested in the lesson email?
If you’re interested in the lesson but cannot accommodate the lesson times requested please email us with the lesson days/times that would work for you. We will email you back if another instructor is not available for the requested schedule and your schedule works for the client.
On-time:
Please arrive to the lesson location at least 5 minutes prior to the scheduled lesson time.
If client contacts us to cancel their lesson package due to the instructors frequent tardiness the instructor will receive a 50% pay fine and will be removed from our contractor list.
Clients are reserving this time for you, please make sure you allow enough travel time for traffic and call the client if you are running a few minutes behind.
Teaching Tools:
Instructors must provide their own teaching tools. We recommend a noodle, kickboard, squirt fish and rings for your lessons. Swimoutlet.com has great deals on kickboards and the Target dollar bin is a good place to get squirt fish, rings and noodles. We do not condone the use of any flotation devices during the lesson as they are not conducive to learning to swim (arm bands, life vests, float swim suits).
Dress- Code:
Please arrive to your swim lessons dressed functionally and appropriately. Keep in mind that some of our customers are more conservative than others. We ask that excessive tattoos are covered to the best of your ability and body/facial piercings are conceded or removed. We recommend women wear a one-piece swim suit or two-piece with a rash guard on top. We recommend that men wear a rash guard with swim trunks.
Teaching Method:
We believe in a gentle, child-centered approach to teaching. We do not condone or contract with instructors who use an aggressive method that could potentially cause long-term damage to a child. However, we highly suggest using gentle coercion and careful judgment to determine whether children are putting on a show or have a real fear.
Teaching Results:
We expect swimmers to learn the skills on the Sunsational Swim Skills Chart. We also expect beginning swimmers under age 6 to learn the SWIM, FLOAT, SWIM (rollover breathing) sequence. Lessons for beginners should focus on being able to jump into the water, swim back to the edge and pull themselves out (safety sequence), putting their face in the water, kicking with legs and paddling with arms.
“Sunsational Swim Skills” – Clients will receive a swim skills poster & certificate for each child aged 2-9. We recommend completing the skills in the skill set order and putting a sticker or stamp next to each skill after the child completes it. After they have completed all of the lessons in the lesson package you can fill out their certificate and write the level name that they achieved on the certificate.
Schedule:
You are responsible for keeping track of your own schedule. We do not send reminders to instructors or customers for upcoming lessons.
Client Reschedule Policy:
Clients are permitted to reschedule up to two lessons from any one lesson package. All customer cancellations have to be made with a minimum of 24 hours’ notice of the lesson in order to be rescheduled. If the client cancels a lesson in less than 24 hours (unless an emergency or documented medical excuse) they will forfeit the lesson time and the Instructor will receive 25% pay for the lesson. All customer cancellations must be documented on your timesheet and labeled as with or without 24 hours’ notice.
Group or back to back private lessons must be taught as scheduled. If one member of a group is unable to attend a lesson either the entire group can reschedule (with 24 hours’ notice) or the other members can absorb that lesson time. You are not able to split the lesson time among multiple visits. (for example if you have 2 back to back 30 minute lessons and one child is unable to attend or participate that day then the other child should receive a 60 minute lesson or the entire 60 minute lesson should be rescheduled to another day. The child who is absent is not entitles to a 30 minute make up lesson- the customers have be charged at a discounted rate because their total lesson time is longer than 30 minutes.
Weather related cancellations: Customers must cancel due to weather related conditions at least 3 hours prior to the scheduled lesson time. Cancellation conditions include: cold & rainy, thunder/lightning storm. They do not include: a light summer rain if it not cold, or the weather being too hot.
Instructor Reschedule Policy:
We do not allow last minute inexcusable Instructor reschedules or cancellations. We must be contacted as soon as possible in the case of any emergency or illness via e-mail andrea@sunsationalswimschool.com. If you have a pre-arranged vacation or trip planned please notify us and the client at least 2 weeks prior and we can either arrange a substitute (if one is available) or the client can continue with lessons when you return. Inexcusable and/or unreasonable reschedules may result in termination of your independent contractor relationship with us.
If Instructor is unable to complete a lesson package they agreed to without an excusable and/or reasonable documented reason they will be accessed a 50% pay fine. Or, if a client contacts us to switch instructors or cancel their lessons due to inexcusable instructor reschedules the instructor will be accessed a 50% pay fine and removed from our contractor list. This fine does not apply to any other client cancellation reasons besides inexcusable instructor reschedules.
Can I work for other swim school companies in addition to Sunsational Swim?
Yes, instructors are considered independent contractors of Sunsational Swim School and are free to work for any other swim school company while contracting with us.
Client Information:
All client lists are agreed to be the exclusive property of Sunsational Swim School. Such lists are proprietary and confidential. Any personal solicitation of company's clients for financial gain of contractor in competition with the company will result in legal action and seeking of damages against contractor in accordance with conflict of interest laws.
Tax Policy:
You are classified as an Independent Contractor. This means that we will not withhold any taxes from your check. If you earn more than $600.00 in one year, then you will receive a 1099 Form. You are responsible for paying your own taxes at the end of the year and claiming all tax deductible business expenses (gas, mileage, swim teaching tools, etc). Please contact a licensed tax adviser for advice.
All Instructors must fill out a W9 tax form in order to be paid.
Lesson Policy:
Available lessons will be emailed to Instructors who are located in the general vicinity of the lesson. If you’re interested in the lesson please respond ASAP. We may call or text you for urgent lesson requests. Instructors must be available for the entire lesson package in order to be booked.
12 Lesson Learn to Swim Guarantee:
We have a “Learn to Swim Guaranteed”. The customer receives this guarantee when they purchase 12 private 30 minute swim lessons for a child age 3 +. The guarantee is that the child will be able to swim with their face under the water and get back to the wall after a jump into the pool. If the child is not willing to jump then the instructor can drop them in the pool from the edge and have them swim back to the wall and climb out.
If the child has not accomplished these skills by the time the 12 private swim lessons are complete then the subsequent lessons are free to the client, for just that child, until they have accomplished the skills mentioned above.
The instructor will be paid 50% of the normal pay rate for the additional lessons until the child meets the guarantee or 10 free lessons maximum. The instructor is ultimately responsible for ensuring the child meets the guarantee within 12 lessons and 95% of children aged 3 + should be able to learn these skills and 12 private 30 minute swim lessons (In 2011 we only had 8 children not meet the guarantee out of over 500 with the guarantee package). Please let us know ASAP if you believe the child will not be able to learn the skills in 12 private lessons.
It is mandatory for the pool to be at least 83 degrees for every lesson and for the child to be in the water for the entire lesson time for all 12 lessons in order to qualify for the guarantee. If either of these circumstances is not met by the customer it is your responsibility to contact us ASAP and inform the customer that it could result in the guarantee being voided.
Sunsational Swim Lifeguard Policies
Event Policy: Available events will be emailed to the lifeguards in the vicinity. If you’re interested in the event please respond ASAP. We may call or text you for urgent requests.
Payment Information: Lifeguards must send their time sheet within one month after completion of the event to timesheets@sunsationalswimschool.com
Payment will be made via check within 10 business days of sending your timesheet. Payment will not be made until we receive an accurate timesheet and have your direct deposit information! Timesheet must be labeled with First & Last Name, Date and Timesheet.
Extra time will only be paid if the parent authorized you to stay longer.
Lifeguard Rate of Pay: $20/hr + potential cash tips for an excellent job! (no travel fee for lifeguards)
*tips are not required but most clients tip lifeguards who provide excellent service for their event.
On-time: Please arrive at the clients home at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled time. If you’re running late please call the client and let them know.
Lifeguards who arrive more than 15 minutes late (and the unhappy client informs us) will incur a 25% pay fine.
Lifeguard Tools: Lifeguards must provide their own equipment - Lifeguard swim suit, first aid kit and lifeguard bouy or rescue tube. Please wait to purchase anything new until you have a gig lined up.
Reschedules and Cancelations: Please direct client to contact us in the event of a reschedule or cancelation.
Schedule: Please keep track of your own schedule. We do not remind contractors of their upcoming events.
Non-Compete: By signing this document you agree to not take any of Sunsational Swim School’s clients or referrals as my own. Any Independent Contractor found attempting to solicit or sell clients (or client referrals) their own personal lifeguard services will be in breach of contract and subject to immediate termination and legal charges.
Tax Policy: You are classified as an Independent Contractor. This means that we will not withhold any taxes from your check. If you earn more than $600.00 in one year, then you will receive a 1099 Form. You are responsible for paying your own taxes at the end of the year and claiming all tax deductable business expenses. All Contractors must fill out a W9 tax form.
Please ensure parents and children follow our pool rules: (parents agree to rules in contract)
Pool Rules:
- Listen to the lifeguard at all times
- No running on the pool deck
- No diving in the pool
- No rough play
- Non-swimmers must wear Coast Guard approved life jackets, stay in the shallow end of the pool and be accompanied by an adult
- Swim diapers must be worn by children that are not potty trained
- No non see-through rafts allowed in the pool