The sub coverage policy template for yoga studios

Set the request windows

• Write the notice window in hours, not in feelingsPick a clock number, for example anything inside 12 hours of class start counts as late. Everything outside that window follows the normal process, which keeps the hard rules for the cases that need them.
• Name the cutoff for releasing a regular classSay how far ahead a teacher can hand back one of her regular slots without it counting as a late release. Two weeks is common, and it lets you post a covered grid rather than a hopeful one.
• Decide what happens when nobody claimsWrite the fallback in order: lead teacher covers, then owner covers, then the class is cancelled by a stated hour. Students should never find out at the door.
• Set the cancellation hour for low attendanceIf you cancel classes under a headcount, name the headcount and the time you decide. A teacher who drove in deserves to know the rule before she gets in the car.
• State how students are toldSay who updates the booking system and who posts the change, and by when. In most studios the front desk does it, and the teacher never has to.

Write the claim order

• List each teacher against the styles and levels she is approved forVinyasa 2, prenatal, hot, yin and restorative are separate approvals. This list is what stops a request going to people who could never take the class anyway.
• Set who gets the offer firstSome studios go to the whole approved pool at once, others offer the regular sub for that time slot a head start. Write down which you do so it never looks like favoritism.
• Give the claim window a lengthState how long the first group has before the request widens, for example 45 minutes in the evening. Without a stated window, the request just sits there until you chase it.
• Say that the first claim wins and is finalOne line prevents a whole category of argument. When two teachers claim within seconds, the record decides, and the second one is thanked and released.
• Name who confirms the coverOne person confirms in writing that the class is covered, and that message is what makes it official. Verbal yes in the hallway does not count.

Fix the pay rules

• State the base rate a covering teacher is paidUsually it is the rate for that class, not the absent teacher rate. Write the number so nobody has to ask what a Saturday cover pays.
• Write the late coverage adjustmentIf you add an amount for covers inside the late window, state it in dollars. Studios that pay something extra here get faster claims and far fewer silent threads.
• Say who is paid when a class is cancelledDecide whether a teacher who shows up to a cancelled class is paid in full, at a reduced show up rate, or not at all, and apply it identically to everyone.
• Tie pay to the class actually taughtMake it explicit that the pay run follows the person who taught, not the name printed on the published grid. This is the single line that ends month end disputes.
• Name the pay period cutoff dateGive the date the class list closes and the date pay lands. Late corrections after the cutoff move to the next run, and everyone knows that in advance.

Publish it and keep it current

• Get every teacher to read and acknowledge it onceSend it with the next schedule and ask for a one line reply confirming she has read it. Keep those replies with your roster records.
• Put it where a teacher can find it at 10pmA pinned link beats an email from March. If it takes more than fifteen seconds to find, teachers will default to texting you instead.
• Log every substitution on the night it happensDate, class, who was scheduled, who taught. This is what your pay run and any later insurance or classification question will need.
• Review your sub rate by time slot each quarterIf one slot generates a third of your covers, the slot is the problem. Move it, merge it or restaff it before the next grid goes out.
• Reissue the policy whenever the grid changesA new location, a new early class or a new pay structure all need a fresh version with a date on it. Version dates stop two policies circulating at once.