Working with a Franchise Company - part 2

Franchise - part 2



For anyone thinking of becoming a driving instructor, an important consideration is to know what employment opportunities are available once their driving instructor training had been completed. In this second article looking at working as a self employed driving instructor with a Driving School Franchise, we look more closely at the finances before commiting to a driving instructor course.

Possible earnings
Although the franchising company provides support to the instructor, the instructor is self employed. Therefore the instructor is responsible for their own tax and national insurance payments, etc. and for the running costs of the car. Additionally the franchising company will not pay for holidays or sick days, or any other time off.


As was noted in an earlier article, the instructor's main business expenses are relatively fixed - primarily the cost of the car, insurance, and the weekly fee to the franchising company. However there are some variable costs, such as fuel, tyres etc. that are more dependant on the number and types of lessons given.

In contrast to relatively fixed expenses, the instructor's income is dependant on the number of lessons paid for in any given period. Some instructors are happy to work relatively few hours, others want to, and have the opportunity to, work more. Based on these different circumstances, here are some examples of possible income.

Assume the instructor is paid £20 per hour for each lesson, and that this payment is made directly to the instructor. Assume that the weekly payment to the franchising company is £125.

35 Lessons @ £20 = £700, less £125 fee gives £575 gross weekly income.

40 Lessons @ £20 = £800, less £125 fee gives £675 gross weekly income.

50 Lessons @ £20 = £1000, less £125 fee gives £875 gross weekly income.

60 Lessons @ £20 = £1200, less £125 fee gives £1075 gross weekly income.

All vehicle purchase and running costs, insurance premiums, any business expenses, and taxes need to be paid from this gross income figure. Similarly taking holidays - public and personal - into consideration, it might be best to assume that income is only generated from around 46 weeks of the year.

Assuming this 46 week year, gross annual income figures for the four examples given above are £29,900, £35,775, £47,250, and £59,125 respectively.