1. Relationship between you and Mastery
You are an independent contractor, not an employee, partner, agent, or joint venturer of Mastery. Nothing in this Agreement creates an employment relationship. You are solely responsible for your own tax, national insurance, pension, and regulatory obligations in every jurisdiction where you operate.
Mastery provides the technology platform, payment processing, and marketplace infrastructure. You are the provider of your courses — you set the price, create the content, deliver the teaching, and are solely responsible for the course and your conduct.
2. Eligibility and onboarding
To become a Mastery instructor you must:
Be at least 18 years old and legally able to enter into contracts
Complete our instructor onboarding process and be approved by our team
Provide accurate identity, tax, and banking information
Hold all qualifications, licences, or authorisations legally required to deliver the subject matter you intend to teach
Not be on any UK, EU, UN, or US sanctions list
We may decline any instructor application at our sole discretion. Approval is not a guarantee of continued access — we may suspend or terminate your account in line with this Agreement.
3. Fees, commission, and payouts
Instructor subscription: Payable monthly in advance at the rate set out in the current fee schedule published on the Platform, following any introductory or trial period specified in that schedule. The subscription auto-renews unless cancelled.
Commission: Mastery takes a commission on each course sale at the rate set out in the current fee schedule published on the Platform (inclusive of applicable taxes on our fee). You keep the remainder of the net sale price after commission, payment processing fees, and applicable taxes on the transaction. The fee schedule forms part of this Agreement and any changes to it will be notified in accordance with clause 13.
Payouts: Paid monthly via Stripe Connect to your nominated bank account, subject to a 30-day hold from the date of each learner’s purchase. This hold aligns with our refund window and protects against refund clawbacks.
Refunds: Where a learner is granted a refund under our refund policy, the corresponding instructor earnings will be reversed from your pending or future payouts.
Chargebacks: Payment chargebacks disputed in favour of the learner will be deducted from your earnings. You agree to cooperate with any chargeback response.
Tax: You are solely responsible for reporting and paying all income tax, VAT (where applicable), and other taxes on your instructor earnings. Mastery may, where legally required, withhold or report certain amounts in accordance with UK or international tax law.
We may change our fees and commission rates on 30 days’ written notice. If you do not accept the change, your remedy is to terminate this Agreement.
4. Content ownership and licence to Mastery
You retain ownership of the intellectual property in the courses, materials, and content you upload (“Instructor Content”).
By uploading Instructor Content, you grant Mastery a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable licence to host, display, reproduce, stream, promote, and distribute your Instructor Content on the Platform and in Mastery’s marketing materials, for as long as your content remains on the Platform and for a reasonable period thereafter for archival, legal, and dispute-resolution purposes.
You also grant Mastery the right to use your name, likeness, biography, and profile photo for the purpose of promoting the Platform and your courses.
5. Your warranties and obligations
You represent, warrant, and undertake that:
You have the full legal right and authority to enter into this Agreement
You own or have secured all necessary rights, licences, consents, and permissions in your Instructor Content, including from any third parties whose work, image, voice, or likeness appears in your content
Your Instructor Content does not and will not infringe the intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or other rights of any third party
Your Instructor Content is accurate, is not misleading, and does not contain false claims about qualifications, outcomes, or accreditations
You hold any professional qualifications, certifications, or regulatory authorisations claimed in your profile or course descriptions
You will deliver courses substantially as described to enrolled learners
You will respond to learner questions, support requests, and feedback within a reasonable timeframe
You will comply with all applicable laws in every jurisdiction in which you operate or where your learners are based, including consumer protection, data protection, advertising, and tax law
You will not engage in harassment, discrimination, or inappropriate conduct toward learners or other instructors
You will not circumvent the Platform to take payments from learners off-platform in connection with courses sold on Mastery
6. Prohibited content
You must not upload, publish, or distribute through the Platform any content that:
Is illegal under UK law, or under the law of any jurisdiction in which learners or instructors are reasonably likely to access it
Infringes any copyright, trade mark, patent, design right, moral right, database right, or other intellectual property right
Contains child sexual abuse material, or any content that sexualises, exploits, or endangers minors — any such content will be reported to the National Crime Agency (NCA-CEOP) and, where applicable, law enforcement in the relevant jurisdiction
Incites, facilitates, or glorifies terrorism, extremism, or serious violence
Promotes, incites, or facilitates hatred or discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or age
Incites or facilitates self-harm, suicide, or eating disorders
Contains pornography, sexually explicit material, or content that is obscene or grossly offensive
Provides instructions or material support for serious criminal activity, including fraud, money laundering, drug manufacture, weapons manufacture, or cyber-attacks
Contains malware, spyware, or any malicious code
Is defamatory, harassing, threatening, or designed to intimidate
Contains unauthorised personal data of any third party
Makes unverified health, medical, financial, legal, or investment claims that could cause harm if relied upon
Infringes the UK Online Safety Act 2023, the Digital Services Act (for EU learners), or any equivalent legislation applicable to user-generated content
We may proactively scan, review, moderate, or remove any Instructor Content we reasonably believe breaches this clause — without notice, without refund, and without liability to you. Repeat or serious breaches will result in immediate termination of your instructor account.
7. Content moderation and takedown
Mastery operates a content moderation process that includes:
Pre-publication review by our team before new courses go live
Ongoing monitoring of published content, including in response to learner reports
A reporting mechanism allowing learners and third parties to flag content they believe breaches this Agreement or applicable law
Prompt action on valid takedown notices, including DMCA-equivalent notices under UK and international copyright law
Cooperation with law enforcement in response to lawful requests relating to illegal content
If we receive a complaint or become aware of a potential issue with your Instructor Content, we may:
Remove or suspend access to the content immediately and without prior notice, where we reasonably believe this is necessary to comply with law, protect users, or limit Mastery’s liability
Request additional information, evidence of rights, or clarification from you
Suspend your account pending investigation
Terminate your account where we conclude a material breach has occurred
You agree to cooperate fully with any investigation and to respond to our queries within 5 working days.
8. Indemnity
You will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Mastery, its officers, employees, contractors, and affiliates from and against any and all claims, losses, damages, liabilities, penalties, fines, legal fees, and expenses arising out of or in connection with:
Any breach by you of this Agreement, the Terms of Use, or the Privacy Policy
Your Instructor Content, including any claim that it infringes third-party rights or violates applicable law
Any course you deliver, including claims by learners relating to content, outcomes, or conduct
Your negligence, misconduct, or breach of statutory duty
Any tax, regulatory, or employment-status liability arising from your activities
Any claim that your teaching caused loss, harm, or injury to a learner or third party
This indemnity survives termination of this Agreement.
9. Liability
Mastery’s total aggregate liability to you under or in connection with this Agreement is limited to the greater of (a) the total commission retained by Mastery from your sales in the 12 months preceding the claim, or (b) £100.
Mastery is not liable for indirect, consequential, or loss-of-profit damages, including loss of earnings resulting from account suspension, content removal, or Platform downtime, except where caused by our gross negligence or wilful misconduct.
Nothing in this Agreement limits liability that cannot be limited under UK law (including death, personal injury caused by negligence, and fraud).
10. Data protection
Where you process learner personal data in the course of delivering your teaching (for example, when communicating with enrolled learners or providing feedback on assignments), you act as an independent data controller for that processing. You must:
Comply with UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and any equivalent law applicable to learners in other jurisdictions
Register with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office where required
Have a lawful basis for processing and provide appropriate privacy information to learners
Keep learner data confidential and secure, and not use it for any purpose beyond delivering the course unless the learner has separately consented
Notify Mastery within 24 hours of any personal data breach involving learner data
11. Term and termination
This Agreement starts when you are approved as an instructor and continues until terminated.
You may terminate at any time by cancelling your subscription and closing your instructor account from your dashboard. Termination does not entitle you to a refund of subscription fees already paid.
Mastery may terminate this Agreement:
Immediately, without notice, where you materially breach this Agreement, upload prohibited content, or where continued access presents a legal, safety, or reputational risk to Mastery or its users
On 30 days’ written notice for any other reason
On termination:
Your courses will be unlisted from the marketplace
Learners who purchased your courses before termination retain access to the content they paid for for a minimum of 90 days from the date of termination, and you grant Mastery a continuing licence to host that content for those learners during that period. Mastery may, at its discretion, continue to host the content for longer, and will give learners reasonable notice before any content is removed.
Pending payouts are released on the next scheduled payout date, subject to the usual 30-day hold and any amounts owed to Mastery
Clauses relating to content licence (for learner access), indemnity, liability, confidentiality, and governing law survive termination
12. Confidentiality
You agree not to disclose any non-public information about Mastery’s business, users, pricing strategy, technology, or internal processes that you become aware of through your instructor relationship, except as required by law.
13. Changes
We may update this Agreement from time to time. Material changes will be notified by email or via your instructor dashboard at least 30 days before taking effect. Continued use of the Platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance. If you do not accept the change, your remedy is to terminate this Agreement.
14. Governing law
This Agreement is governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
15. Contact
For any questions about this Agreement, contact [SUPPORT EMAIL] or write to [LEGAL ENTITY] at [REGISTERED ADDRESS].
By creating an instructor account on Mastery, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this Instructor Agreement.
