Staff & Instructor Management for BJJ Gyms UK

In the early stage, you're teaching all classes yourself, typically running 6-10 classes per week. Signs you need help include consistently full classes with waitlists, physical exhaustion and burnout, inability to take holidays or sick leave, missing growth opportunities due to capacity limits, and members requesting additional class times you can't cover.

At this stage, focus on building a financial buffer before hiring. You need at least 3-6 months of instructor costs saved, ideally £3,000-£6,000 depending on how many classes you plan to hire for.

Your first hire is typically a part-time instructor covering 2-4 classes per week, often working as a contractor paid per class (£25-£40 per session). The assistant instructor model works well here, where they teach beginners or fundamentals while you focus on advanced classes.

The critical decision at this stage is contractor vs employee classification. Most UK gyms start with contractors due to lower costs and administrative burden, but HMRC's IR35 rules mean you must carefully assess whether the working relationship truly qualifies as self-employment.

With 2-4 instructors on your team, you now have opportunities for specialisation. One instructor might focus on kids programmes, another on competition team, while you handle adult fundamentals and advanced classes.

Management systems become essential at this stage. You need clear scheduling processes, documented policies and procedures, regular team meetings and communication, performance expectations in writing, and systems for covering sick leave and holidays. Consider creating an instructor manual to standardise expectations.

With multiple instructors and defined roles, you're now running a proper martial arts business. Consider a head instructor or manager structure to reduce your day-to-day teaching load and focus on business development.

Succession planning becomes important. What happens if your head instructor leaves? Who can step up? Building a talent pipeline and clear progression paths prevents crisis management when inevitable changes occur.

Before hiring your first instructor, ensure you have the financial stability to support them. Key indicators include: Can you afford £25-£40 per class (or £1,000-£2,000/month for part-time) consistently for at least 6 months? Do you have a 3-month salary buffer saved in case revenue drops? Is demand proven through waitlists, full classes, or member requests for additional times?

Don't hire too early. Many gym owners hire before they're financially ready, putting stress on cash flow and often having to let instructors go during slow months. Wait until you have stable, predictable revenue that comfortably covers the additional expense.

Technical skill matters, but teaching ability and cultural fit are equally important. Essential qualities include: minimum belt rank (typically purple belt, though some gyms prefer brown or black), teaching ability over competition success (medals don't automatically make great teachers), cultural fit and values alignment with your gym's philosophy, reliability and professionalism (turning up on time, prepared, professional), and UK work authorisation (critical legal requirement).

Desirable criteria include prior teaching experience, first aid certification, coaching qualifications (UKBJJA Level 1 or 2), safeguarding training (essential for kids classes), and specific skills like no-gi expertise, kids teaching experience, or competition coaching.

The best instructors often come from within your gym. Promoting senior students to assistant instructor roles provides culture fit, loyalty, knowledge of your systems, and member familiarity. However, they may lack teaching experience initially.

Other sources include the local BJJ community (visiting other gyms and networking at BJJA and UKBJJA events), online channels (Facebook BJJ groups like UK BJJ Network and BJJ UK, Reddit r/bjj, Instagram and LinkedIn), governing body networks (BJJA and UKBJJA instructor listings), and relocating instructors willing to move for opportunities. Always approach other gym's instructors respectfully, never actively poaching.

This is one of the most important decisions you'll make. The wrong classification can result in significant HMRC penalties and back-payments for tax, National Insurance, and holiday pay.

IR35 legislation in the UK determines whether a contractor is genuinely self-employed or effectively an employee. HMRC applies three key tests: substitution (can they send someone else to teach?), control (do you dictate how, when, and where they work?), and mutuality of obligation (must you offer work, must they accept?).

Generally, contractors are more appropriate when the instructor teaches only 2-4 classes weekly, works for multiple gyms, uses their own curriculum and teaching style, invoices you monthly, and has genuine flexibility over substitution and when they work. Employees are more appropriate when teaching 10+ classes weekly at your gym only, you control curriculum and teaching methods closely, they have set contracted hours, receive holiday and sick pay, and have no genuine business independence.

Read our comprehensive contractor vs employee guide for detailed guidance and risk assessment.

All UK gym owners employing instructors must comply with: employment contracts (written statement of terms within 2 months), minimum wage compliance (£12.71/hour for ages 21+ from April 2026, £10.85 for 18-20, £8.00 for 16-17), holiday pay entitlements (5.6 weeks or 28 days statutory minimum per year), pension auto-enrolment (when earning over £10,000 annually), Working Time Regulations (48-hour working week average, rest breaks), right to work checks (verification before employment starts), and DBS checks (Enhanced DBS costing £68 for instructors working with children).

Failure to comply with these requirements can result in penalties from £45,000 per illegal worker for right to work failures, up to £20,000 per worker for minimum wage violations, employment tribunal claims for unfair dismissal or unpaid holiday, and criminal prosecution in serious cases.

From April 2026, medium and large businesses remain responsible for determining IR35 status and issuing Status Determination Statements. Approximately 14,000 companies will be reclassified from medium to small, shifting responsibility to contractors themselves.

The HMRC Employment Status Tool (CEST) can help assess whether a working relationship falls inside or outside IR35, though it's been criticised for leaving 20% of cases undetermined and missing key factors like mutuality of obligation.

Risks of misclassification include HMRC back-claiming employer National Insurance (15% from April 2025), back-payment of pension contributions, holiday pay claims from the instructor, potential employment tribunal for unfair dismissal if relationship ends, and reputational damage.

Many UK gym owners fall into these traps: treating employees as contractors to avoid paying holiday pay and National Insurance (HMRC actively pursues this), missing payroll obligations (forgetting PAYE, National Insurance, pension auto-enrolment), no written contracts (verbal agreements are legally enforceable but hard to prove), inadequate holiday pay (must include 12.07% for irregular hours workers), and no proper dismissal process (leading to unfair dismissal claims).

When to get legal advice: before you hire your first instructor (to set up correct structure), when you're uncertain about contractor vs employee classification, before dismissing an instructor (to ensure fair procedure), and when facing an employment tribunal claim or HMRC investigation.

Read our complete UK employment law guide for gym owners.

This is the most common model for part-time instructors in UK BJJ gyms. Typical rates vary by belt rank and experience: purple belt £25-£35/class, brown belt £30-£40/class, black belt £35-£50/class. London rates are typically 30-50% higher.

Advantages for gym owners include only paying for classes taught, no holiday or sick pay obligations, easy to scale up or down, lower administrative burden, and flexibility to trial instructors. Disadvantages include less instructor loyalty, instructors working for multiple gyms, risk of losing instructors to higher rates, IR35 compliance risk if treated like employees, and more frequent last-minute cancellations.

Best for part-time instructors, early-stage gyms under 100 members, specialised class instructors (kids, competition), and trial periods with new instructors.

Fixed monthly or annual salary with employee status (PAYE, National Insurance, pension). Typical UK salaries for 2026: part-time (2-3 classes/week) £8,000-£15,000/year, half-time (5-10 hours/week) £12,000-£20,000/year, full-time (20-30 hours/week) £20,000-£35,000/year, head instructor/manager £28,000-£42,000/year.

Advantages include greater instructor commitment and loyalty, more control over schedule and duties, consistency and reliability, ability to assign non-teaching duties (admin, marketing), and professional image. Disadvantages include fixed cost even if revenue drops, holiday pay and sick pay obligations, employer National Insurance contributions (15% from April 2025 on earnings above £5,000 annually), pension auto-enrolment costs (minimum 3% employer contribution), more complex termination process, and higher administrative burden.

Best for head instructors or senior staff, gyms with 150+ members (stable revenue), full-time instructors teaching 10+ classes weekly, and instructors with management responsibilities.

Instructor receives percentage of gym revenue or profit, typically for partnership or senior instructor arrangements. Common structures: revenue share 10-30% of class revenue, profit share 15-40% of net profit, member acquisition bonus £50-£100 per new member they bring in, class size bonus for classes exceeding target attendance.

Advantages include aligned incentives with gym growth, reduces fixed costs (variable with revenue), motivates instructors to build membership, attracts entrepreneurial instructors, and excellent long-term retention. Disadvantages include more complex accounting and transparency needed, may reduce gym owner profit margin, potential disputes over calculations, difficult to change once established, and may create conflict with multiple instructors on different terms.

Best for long-term key instructors (3+ years), partnership track arrangements, instructors taking ownership of specific programmes, and established gyms looking to reward loyalty.

Many successful UK gyms use hybrid approaches combining elements: base salary + per-class bonus (£15,000 salary + £20 per additional class beyond contracted hours), retainer + per-class rate (£500/month retainer + £30 per class), salary + member acquisition bonus (base salary + £50-£100 per new member), salary + profit share (modest salary + 5-15% profit share), and progressive rate model (rates increase with longevity: Year 1 £30/class, Year 2 £35/class, Year 3 £40/class).

These models balance stability with performance incentives, reward loyalty and results, and provide flexibility for different instructor situations.

Don't underestimate the value of benefits beyond cash: training and development (free seminars, paid instructor courses, competition support), flexibility and autonomy (flexible scheduling, input on curriculum), career progression (clear path to head instructor, partnership opportunities), and recognition and status (title recognition, featured on marketing, leadership opportunities).

Non-financial compensation can offset 10-20% of cash compensation, particularly valuable to younger or developing instructors, and builds long-term loyalty more effectively than small pay increases.

Investing in instructor training delivers consistency across classes (members get similar experience regardless of instructor), quality control (teaching meets your standards), instructor confidence (they know what's expected and how to deliver), member satisfaction (better teaching improves retention), and risk management (proper safety protocols reduce injuries).

New students who attend at least 8 classes in their first month are over 80% more likely to remain members for a year or longer. Your instructors' ability to create welcoming, effective first experiences directly impacts this critical retention window.

Essential training areas include teaching methodology (how to explain techniques clearly, demonstrate effectively, provide feedback), gym policies and procedures (attendance tracking, payments, member communications), safety protocols (injury prevention, stopping sparring when needed, hygiene standards), customer service expectations (greeting members, handling complaints, building rapport), curriculum alignment (following your system, progression logic), and child safeguarding (if teaching kids classes - legally required in UK).

The UKBJJA Level 1 Award in Assistant Coaching (for blue belts) and Level 2 Coaching Award (for purple belts) provide nationally recognised training covering these areas.

Effective instructor development uses multiple approaches: shadowing experienced instructors (1-2 weeks observing before teaching), teaching observations with feedback (you watch and provide constructive feedback), regular training meetings (monthly instructor meetings to discuss issues, share ideas), external instructor courses (UKBJJA coaching awards, safeguarding training), and guest instructor learning (bringing in high-level instructors benefits your team).

Create an instructor manual documenting gym policies, teaching standards, safety protocols, curriculum structure, and administrative procedures. This standardises expectations and serves as reference material.

Training doesn't stop after onboarding. Maintain ongoing development through regular feedback sessions (monthly or quarterly reviews), professional development budget (£500-£1,500/year for seminars, courses), seminar attendance (supporting instructor development), and belt progression support (recognising and celebrating their growth).

Read our complete instructor training and development guide.

Typical instructor problems include inconsistent teaching quality (some classes excellent, others poor), punctuality and reliability issues (late arrival, last-minute cancellations), personality conflicts (with members or other staff), undermining gym owner decisions (publicly disagreeing or subverting policies), outside opportunities (being approached by or considering competing gyms), performance decline (complacency or burnout), and inappropriate behaviour (boundary issues with members).

Prevent problems through clear expectations from the start (what's acceptable, what isn't), written policies (instructor manual with standards and procedures), regular communication (don't let issues fester), performance reviews (scheduled feedback sessions, not just when problems arise), and open-door culture (instructors feel comfortable raising concerns).

When issues occur, address them promptly and professionally. Documentation is critical - keep records of performance issues, conversations, warnings given, and improvement plans. The UK requires fair procedures following ACAS Code of Practice.

Having difficult conversations requires privacy (never criticise publicly), specific examples (not vague complaints), opportunity to respond (hear their side), clear expectations (what needs to change), reasonable timeframe (time to improve), and documented outcomes (written records).

For employees, proper disciplinary procedures are legally required: verbal/informal warning, written warning, final written warning, dismissal (with notice and final pay). For gross misconduct, dismissal may be immediate after proper investigation and hearing. Employment tribunals can increase compensation by up to 25% for employers who fail to follow ACAS guidelines.

When to part ways: consistent poor performance despite feedback and support, unreliability affecting member experience, inappropriate behaviour with members, serious breach of contract or policies, or financial necessity (gym downsizing). Protect yourself legally by following proper dismissal procedures, providing required notice, calculating final pay correctly (including holiday pay), documenting everything, and seeking legal advice when uncertain.

Read our guide on dealing with difficult instructors.

Common reasons for instructor turnover in UK gyms include better pay elsewhere (£5-£10 more per class matters), lack of progression (no path to head instructor or partnership), poor communication (feeling uninformed or excluded), feeling undervalued (no recognition or appreciation), personal circumstances (relocation, career change, family), and opening their own gym (your success inspired them).

Keep instructors committed through competitive compensation (know and match market rates), clear progression paths (assistant → instructor → head instructor → partner), recognition and appreciation (public praise, thank you messages), professional development support (seminar attendance, training budget), profit-sharing for loyalty (reward long-term commitment), involvement in decision-making (seek input on curriculum, policies), and work-life balance respect (reasonable schedules, flexibility when possible).

Remember: instructors talk to each other. If one instructor at a nearby gym earns £40/class while you pay £30 with no clear reason, you'll lose people. Transparency about pay structures and progression paths prevents resentment.

Long-term loyalty often comes from ownership and partnership opportunities. Consider equity/partnership opportunities (making key instructors part-owners), revenue share agreements (percentage of specific programme revenue they manage), long-term vision sharing (involving them in strategic planning), and treating as valued team members (not just hired help).

Succession planning shows instructors there's a future at your gym, preparing for transitions and ensuring business continuity when changes occur.