Mum told me on the day of tutoring that there is no more tutoring

[Thatyachtmusicsong]

Can anyone help please?

I do private tutoring and have tutored one student twice per week for three years.
She has had some health issues and we changed from tutoring at her home to online 6 or so months ago.
We tutored over summer until the last few weeks of August when she said she was taking a breaj for summer and would tutor again as always in September.
Today I messaged in the morning checking that all was okay for tutoring in the evening and the mum told me that they decided to take her out of school and have signed up to an online school.
The mum said she doesn't know about the future and how things will go and she would take a pause for our tutoring as it may be too much for her.
I feel sad for her and understand the situation, but this has come as a real shock to me as we rely on those lessons financially. I had done tje planning for September and feel shocked they only let me know on the day of tutoring, which leaves me no time to find something else.

Stupidly, I don't have a contract.

What would you do about this situation?

Would it be fair to ask for a months payment since I had no notice etc?

Feel like I've really been left in the lurch

Well he hasn't replied, so I guess that is that then.

What area do you live in OP? I have a tutoring centre and need to recruit a tutor

I hope they pay you op!

The price of their house has nothing to do with you or the face that you have been unprofessional. You should be glad he has chosen not to reply instead of calling you out.

Well, what did you expect?

You haven’t presented yourself as a professional
so why on earth would they treat you like one?

Cheshire/Greater Manchester

He's paying me for the month 🙏 He said yes of course and to remind him how much. He said best not to mention it to the mum (his ex) and she doesn't really get these things. They are very different characters, he always pays me though and it's from his money
i'm so relieved but also need to find work asap before the month is out

Thank you for all who have given advice

I think it's easier to try to find a job where they just pay me and I have some security if anything goes wrong.

No, it doesn't. It told you when they bought it that they could either afford the house, or afford the borrowing on the house.

If their situation has changed, for example, the cost of borrowing has become significantly more expensive, they may generally be finding it tough. Again, there is no reason why they would discuss this with you. And whether you live in a £2m house or a hovel, no one wants to lose their home.

You seem to lack empathy, and an understanding of anyone's situation but your own. Is it possible that you feel a little bit silly because you know you should have done things differently and you are looking for the nasty, rich people to be the baddies here. Sometimes there isn't a bad guy, it just sucks. But please, they are just people, like you and notwithstanding you thinking that they have much more than you and are not, therefore, entitled to any empathy, they likely have very similar worries to you.

Good news on the payment.

You didnt answer.....do you declare your income?

Thank you x

Yes I have to and do

There was some great advice on here about how to run a business - have contracts and for services like yours get paid in advance, seem to be the key ones. I pay for a lot of kids stuff, it is ALL in advance and you commit weeks ahead of time to get your place.

You have been given really bad advice here.

Bill her.

How much you can bill her depends on how you have been paid - eg. if she used to pay monthly you can bill her for the month, if she used to pay weekly you can bill her for the week.

Because despite having no written contract with t&cs you do have you have a valid, legally binding "implied contract" established by three years of consistent behaviour.

The laws specifically states if the client is cancelling the entire ongoing arrangement moving forward, they must give a "reasonable notice period" (this is the pay period you work on) based on your historical pattern. You could legally pursue them for sessions that would have fallen within that notice window.

As this session was cancelled with only 2 hours notice, the time slot could not be refilled, and the standard session fee applies

Terminating without express terms: implied rights and reasonable notice

for info on terminating a service where no written contract was in place.

I'm glad it worked out, you handled it the right way send a polite text explaining your perspective and leave it to him

His response about not telling her is interesting lol but that's not your problem. Lesson learned you need to formalize your terms and conditions going forward.

Just saw your update! @Thatyachtmusicsong that is great news.

Good news, and at least you'll know to use contracts going forward!

Well done, OP! Good news.

Typo

Thank you, I feel better, as if my faith in people has been restored
Yes, they are divorced but he pays for the child, he is a kind character, if he ran it past her, I don't think she would have wanted to pay

I would contact her and say how sorry you are to hear that tutoring will end. Explain that you’d have appreciated a month’s notice and that you have spent considerable time preparing work for the pupil for the month ahead and that the slots her DC had have been reserved for them meaning a loss of earnings for you now until a new pupil can be found. You therefore require her to pay 50% of the month’s fees and state the amount. It is not ok to just drop you like this.
I’m a tutor and have done this before and have usually recouped the fees (@50%). Now I have a notice period.
I’ve also learnt from this and send out September confirmation messages in mid August with a reply by date. If they don’t confirm, I send one reminder then reallocate the place to someone else off my waiting list. I also invoice at the end of the month for the month ahead. I find people mess me around far less now and cancel fewer lessons.
Some people don’t value those of us who work with children eg tutors, child minders, and think that because we work with children we should suck up being cancelled on etc and not mind losing money. At the end of the day it’s a business just like any other. I’ve found that the more I value myself, the more my clients treat me with respect. I’ve also terminated pupils where parents have messed me around too much, late payers etc in favour of new pupils.

Wow! That’s an awful attitude.

People like you are why I ask my families to confirm in July that they want a space in September and I ask for payment the last week in August for September. The slot you’re so casually maybe going to keep/ drop could’ve been given to a more reliable pupil. I’d be dropping you. How selfish. That’s someone’s living you’re so flippantly disregarding.

Of course the customers did something wrong. They were completely inconsiderate in not letting Op know that her services were no longer required.
They let her know on the day and only when Op messaged. So unthinking.

Whether they can afford it or not, doesn’t mean they can just drop the OP with 2 hours notice. They would’ve known at least a few week’s ago whether they could afford to continue tutoring or not. The decent thing to do, contract or no contract, is to let the tutor know a few week’s in advance so they can fill the space.
Just because someone is self employed and works with children doesn’t meant they don’t deserve to be paid. If the family are short of funds, are they cancelling their holidays or subscriptions? I bet not.

I have a monthly payment system. I find parents cancel far less often when they’ve paid in advance. If I have to cancel, I credit the session off the following month.

Bollocks. The tutor needs an income too and equally deserves to be treated with respect. They’re not a charity.
You don’t just cancel someone with two hours notice. You either give a few weeks’ notice or you at least pay for the lesson on the day.

I do the same.

I'm a professional and this is my income, full-time.. it's not pin money.

Often if parents do cancel last minute, I won't enforce my late payment policy out of good will, but sometimes it becomes necessary.

I can't imagine someone messing around a solicitor, private dentist or vet to the same extent, but I am more highly qualified than any of these professions.

I'm a firm believer on a bit of give and take, but I am running a business.