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Effective: April 30, 2026

Independent Contractor Agreement

This is a binding agreement between you (the Faculty member) and Kalinklo Limited (TGC). It governs your relationship with the Platform when you teach lessons booked through it. By submitting your application via /portal/apply and ticking the consent boxes, you accept this Agreement.

1. Independent contractor status

You are an independent contractor — not an employee, partner, joint venturer, agent, or franchisee of TGC. You retain full control over how, when, and where you teach, subject only to the obligations in this Agreement. TGC will not withhold any tax from your payouts; you are solely responsible for your own income tax, VAT/GST, social-security contributions, and any other applicable levies.

2. Services you provide

You agree to deliver private lessons, group lessons, and/or masterclasses to Students who book through the Platform. You are responsible for:

  • Showing up on time and prepared for each booked lesson
  • Hosting lessons over a stable Zoom meeting room (or another platform we approve)
  • Maintaining a working microphone, camera, and reliable internet
  • Keeping your availability current via your portal at portal.theglobalconservatory.com
  • Recording lesson notes after each session (covered topics, homework, next focus)
  • Promptly answering Student messages within 48 hours

3. Fees and payouts

  • Public lesson prices are set by you in the portal, subject to TGC pricing-band approval.
  • TGC retains a 25% platform fee from the gross of each transaction.
  • You receive the remaining 75% net, paid out 7 days after each completed lesson.
  • Payouts are made via Airwallex (recommended), our Hong Kong-licensed payments partner. Airwallex deposits to local bank accounts in 130+ countries in the local currency, typically with lower fees than PayPal. PayPal remains available as an alternative, subject to higher fees that are deducted from your payout.
  • You can change your payout method any time in /teacher/profile.
  • Refunded or charged-back transactions reverse the corresponding payout.

4. No-shows and cancellations

  • If you no-show: full refund to the Student. No payout to you. Repeat no-shows may result in removal.
  • If a Student no-shows: 50% payout to you, 50% credit to the Student for a future lesson with you.
  • Cancellations more than 24 hours in advance: full Student refund, no payout.
  • Cancellations within 24 hours: handled per the Refund Policy.

5. Off-platform poaching

For the duration of this Agreement and for 90 days after it ends, you agree not to solicit any Student you met through the Platform to take lessons from you outside the Platform. After 90 days, you and the Student are free to continue lessons elsewhere.

6. Intellectual property

Your bio, photo, lesson plans, sheet-music arrangements, and any content you upload remain your property. You grant TGC a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to host, display, and distribute that content for the purpose of operating and marketing the Platform. You may revoke the license by leaving the Platform, with reasonable notice for already-published material.

7. Recordings

You may record a lesson only with the Student's explicit consent for that session. Recordings are jointly owned by you and the Student and may not be redistributed without mutual written consent. TGC will not access, watch, or distribute recordings except as required by valid legal process.

8. Confidentiality

Student personal information you receive through the Platform (names, emails, contact details, payment data, practice notes) is confidential. You may use it only to deliver the lessons and follow-ups for that Student. You may not export Student lists, share them with third parties, or use them for unrelated marketing.

9. Term and termination

  • This Agreement starts on the day TGC accepts your application (the "Start Date") and runs for an initial minimum term of six (6) months. This protects both parties: it lets TGC recover the cost of onboarding, marketing your profile, and acquiring students for you, and it gives your students confidence that you'll be there for them through a typical lesson cycle.
  • After the initial 6-month term, the Agreement renews automatically on a month-to-month basis until either party gives written notice.
  • Exit notice: Either party may end this Agreement (after the initial 6-month term) by giving sixty (60) days' written notice by email. During the notice period you must continue to honour all booked lessons.
  • Early-exit clause: If you wish to terminate before the 6-month minimum, you may do so by paying TGC a one-time onboarding-recovery fee equal to USD 500 or 25% of your gross earnings to date on the Platform, whichever is greater. This is a liquidated-damages provision: it reflects the genuine cost to TGC of a faculty member leaving early, not a penalty.
  • TGC may terminate immediately for a material breach, repeated no-shows, off-platform poaching, or any violation of the Acceptable Use Policy. In such cases the early-exit fee does not apply but accrued payouts stop.
  • On termination, payouts for already-completed lessons remain payable. Bookings beyond the termination date are refunded to Students unless another faculty agrees to take them.
  • Survival: Sections 5 (Off-platform poaching), 6 (Intellectual property), 8 (Confidentiality), 11 (Indemnification), and 12 (Governing law) survive termination by their stated periods (90 days for the no-poaching clause; perpetual for the others).

10. Tax forms (United States)

If you are a US person and earn more than USD 600 in a calendar year through the Platform, TGC will issue a Form 1099-NEC (or 1099-K via Shopify Payments) by January 31 of the following year. You are responsible for providing a current W-9 on request.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless TGC, its directors, officers, and employees from claims arising out of (a) your delivery of lessons, (b) your tax obligations, (c) your breach of this Agreement, or (d) any IP-infringement claim related to content you upload.

12. Governing law and dispute resolution

This Agreement is governed by the laws of Hong Kong SAR. Disputes will be resolved by binding arbitration in Hong Kong under the rules of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, except that either party may seek injunctive relief in any court of competent jurisdiction.

13. Entire agreement

This Agreement, together with the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, constitutes the entire agreement between you and TGC concerning your services as Faculty. It supersedes any prior understanding. No oral modification is binding.