English UK membership fees and subscriptions: how they work
Corporate members
Our membership fee for ELT service providers is £1,025 + VAT per annum. Eligible service providers can join as corporate members at any time during the year and will be charged on a pro rata basis.
Language centre members
For English language teaching centres our membership fee has two components: a basic subscription; and a supplementary subscription. Supplementary subscrptions are based on the size of the member's English language teaching business, measured in student weeks or an equivalent. Basic subscriptions include a compulsory contribution towards our Student Emergency Support fund.
English UK also manages the invoicing for language centre members' annual Accreditation UK fee payable to the British Council and, if you have signed up for it, the Copyright Licensing Agency fee.
The English UK financial year runs from 1 January to 31 December. Changes to subscription rates are agreed annually.
The difference between private and state sector subscriptions
Private and state sector language centre members are invoiced in slightly different patterns.
Private centre subscriptions
In 2021 invoices for basic subscriptions will be sent out in mid February. Invoices for supplementary subscriptions will be sent out later in the year, from July.
Private sector member centres are required to pay by direct debit in instalments. In 2021 private sector members can opt to pay their basic subcrption in ten instalments (rather than the usual five). Contact our Finance Manager, Nuria Felip Puignou if you would like to opt for the ten-month instalment option.
Accreditation UK fees will be invoiced in the final quarter and can also be paid in instalments.
State sector subscriptions
In 2021 subscription invoices for state sector member centres will be issued in the first quarter of the year. Accreditation UK fees will be invoiced in the final quarter and can be paid in instalments.
Note: the 50% reduction in supplementary subscriptions for 2020 will be applied to state sector members in 2021.
Subscription types: basic, supplementary and group
Basic subscriptions
The majority of individual member centres pay the same basic subscription, which is £1,459 in 2021.
There are reduced rates for very small centres that have fewer than 500 student weeks, while those who have group membership of English UK will pay a discounted rate for the second and subsequent centres.
Supplementary subscriptions: how much you will pay
One student week is calculated as one student taking ten or more hours of tuition in one week.
The supplementary subscription charges for 2021* are:
|
|
Band
|
Number of student weeks
|
Supplementary subscription (2021)*
|
|
|
1
|
< 1,000
|
£0
|
|
|
2
|
1,001- 2,000
|
£466
|
|
|
3
|
2,001- 6,000
|
£807
|
|
|
4
|
6,001- 10,000
|
£1,035
|
|
|
5
|
10,001- 20,000
|
£2,251
|
|
|
6
|
20,001- 30,000
|
£3,519
|
|
|
7
|
30,001- 40,000
|
£4,658
|
|
|
8
|
40,001- 70,000
|
£6,210
|
|
|
9
|
70,001 - 100,000
|
£7,504
|
|
|
10
|
100,000 - 125,000
|
£8,384
|
|
|
11
|
125,000+
|
£10,350
|
|
*Note for state sector members: the 50% reduction in supplementary subcriptions applied to private language centre members in 2020 will be applied to state language centre members in 2021.
Group subscriptions in 2021
Groups of language teaching centres consisting of accredited centres in the same ownership will normally be treated as a group, and pay:
- £1,459 for the group plus
- £1,313 for the second and each subsequent centre joining the group i.e. £2,772 for a group of two centres, £4,085 for a group of three centres etc.
- A supplementary subscription based on the aggregated total of the student weeks taught by all centres in the group.
Applications to be treated as a group must be made or renewed every January. The association has discretion to decide what arrangements constitute a 'group' and continue to constitute a group. If a group ends its direct debit mandate, its individual centres will be assessed separately for their supplementary subscriptions.
Very small centres
English UK offers reduced basic subscription rates to enable the smallest ELT centres to join the association. Centres that have fewer than 500 student weeks are eligible for these reduced rates. Eligibility is based on student weeks declared when joining for new members and, thereafter, on student weeks submitted in the previous year's student data submission e.g. for 2021, the 2020 student data submission (2019 student weeks).
In 2021, centres that recorded between 251 and 500 student weeks in 2019 (as submitted to English UK in early 2020) pay a reduced basic subscription rate of £1,087. Those that recorded less than 250 student weeks pay £844.
Other fees for member centres
Copyright Licensing Agency fee
Private sector member centres can join the English UK Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) licence fee payment scheme, which gives members a saving of well over 50% per annum. For full details of the CLA payment scheme visit CLA & MPLC fees.
Accreditation UK annual fee
The Accreditation UK annual fee is calculated according to student week figures. Once member centres have submitted their annual student week data to English UK, English UK invoices for the accreditation fee on behalf of the British Council who administer the accreditation scheme on a day-to-day basis. This invoicing arrangment enables member centres to benefit from paying their accreditation fees in five instalments as opposed to one single payment.
The British Council's financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March.
|
|
Accreditation UK annual fees (2021/22)**
|
Standard
|
English UK member centres
|
|
|
|
Band 2
|
2,000-5,000 student weeks
|
£596.25
|
£521.25
|
|
|
Band 3
|
>5,000 student weeks
|
£633.75
|
£558.75
|
|
| SES |
All accredited centres not in English UK membership are required to pay an additional £200 contribution to English UK's Student Emergency Support. |
n/a
|
|
**In recognition of the continued disruption to business caused by Covid-19 and travel restrictions, the Accreditation UK Executive Board has secured British Council approval to offer a 25 per cent discount on this year's annual fees (which remain at 2019 rates).
