Terms & Policies
Orcas Partner
Index
Entering Sessions
As an Orcas Partner, you are paid by the hour and it is your responsibility to track the hours you complete on the Learning Hub in order to receive your earnings. To ensure that no sessions go unaccounted for, enter lesson details at the end of each session.
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You must enter session details on time (before the next scheduled session).
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You cannot enter details for multiple sessions at once on the app. Each tutoring session must be entered separately (as in during a separate login session) with the correct start and end timestamp.
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If you do not enter session details on time, we cannot accurately track your earnings and you may not be compensated in such instances.
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If you do not enter session details on time and there is a discrepancy between you and the User (parent/student) in terms of hours or sessions consumed, we will automatically defer to the User’s estimate.
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If you forget to enter a session on time three or more times, you will receive a warning email. If the behavior continues, your profile will be disabled and you will be unable to start new packages.
We take this very seriously, so please make sure to comply
Session Confirmations
In order to receive your earnings, the User must confirm the sessions you track on the Learning Hub to verify they took place. You are only compensated for confirmed sessions. If a User does not confirm your session, you will not be compensated for those hours. For that reason, it is important for you to make sure that your session entries reflect on the app.
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Everytime you enter a new session, the User will receive notifications and reminders prompting them to confirm the session in-app.
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Users have the option to auto-confirm sessions or confirm sessions manually.
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If the User does not manually confirm sessions within 3 days, the session will be automatically confirmed.
Redeeming Earnings
Tutors can redeem earnings for any session that is confirmed and paid by the User, even if the session is part of a package that is still in progress. To redeem your earnings, select a payment transfer method (cash, bank account or CIB wallet) on the Orcas Partner app.
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CIB wallet or bank account must be under your own name
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Non-Egyptians may use someone else’s bank account to receive payment
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Cash collection takes place at the Orcas office once a week.
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Cash payments exceeding 10,000 EGP must be scheduled a week in advance through the Orcas Partner app
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Guaranteed Earnings
Orcas offers Users the opportunity to try two hours before payment is required. This feature is called a Pay-Later Request. It allows Users immediate access to tutoring support prior to paying. In the case of Pay-Later Requests, Orcas pays the Tutor for those first two hours only.
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You must track these hours on the Learning Hub.
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It is your responsibility to make sure you do not complete more than two hours unless you have received confirmation that the parent has paid.
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If you work on a Pay-Later Request and complete more than two hours, you will not be compensated for that time.
Q: What should I do if the User hasn’t paid and does not want to continue?
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If the User has not paid and does not wish to continue, you can stop after you have completed two hours. Communicate with the User in-app that you will end the package beforehand to avoid any confusion. You can then request an Early Finish on the Orcas Partner app.
Q: I completed 1 hour in a Pay-Later-Request or Premium Package, can I redeem it?
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Yes, once you log the session on the Learning Hub, you can redeem your payment because it’s covered by Orcas.
Q: I completed more than 2 hours in a Pay-Later-Request or Premium Package, but the User has not paid yet.
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Orcas will only guarantee the payment of two hours, as explicitly mentioned. The Billing Team is not responsible for following up with the User regarding this payment, however, the team will inform the User that they have an outstanding payment due.
“Early Finish” Hourly Rate Calculation
If you finish a package earlier than expected, you can request an Early Finish on the Orcas Partner app. This is applicable when there are still sessions remaining but the User does not want to continue.
Session Cancellation Policy
Tutors and Users can cancel a session or ask to reschedule, but there are specific cancellation policies that both parties must follow. This ensures that everyone is informed ahead of time so they can plan accordingly.
TUTOR POLICY
Tutor No Show & Last Minute Cancellation: Failure to show up to a scheduled session without prior cancellation (No Show) and cancellations communicated less than 24 hours in advance are counted as last-minute cancellations.
The Tutor will receive two warnings. After a third instance of being flagged for last-minute cancellations, the Tutor’s profile will be made offline and you will be unable to take new jobs until the end of a current school term.
Last-minute cancellations can be reported by the same or different Users
USER POLICY
Paid Session cancellation: When Users who have already paid for sessions cancel a scheduled session three hours or less before the agreed-upon start time, they will be penalized and the session will count as one completed hour (capped at 200 EGP). This means you, as the Tutor, will be compensated with one hour (with a maximum of 200 EGP).
Unpaid Session cancellation: When Users cancel a scheduled session that is not yet paid for, the last-minute cancellation will not be compensated by Orcas. This means that you, as the Tutor, will not receive any sort of payment from Orcas in the event of a last-minute cancellation. .
***Orcas recommends that Users notify Tutors of cancellations at least 24 hours in advance
***Orcas recommends that Tutors do not renew packages with inconsistent Users.
Commitment and Quality
At Orcas, we consider our Tutors as partners. We must work together to ensure that Users get the best learning experience. We also make every effort to support Orcas Partners to thrive in their roles as Tutors, such as enabling them to hold sessions according to their schedules and helping them earn high ratings to increase their hourly rate and receive more requests from clients.
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We promise parents a positive experience with a qualified Tutor for the entire school year.
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As long as the Tutor’s profile is active, Users can browse your profile and send requests directly through the app. Orcas can also recommend the Tutor to Users based on the User’s request and the Tutor’s profile including: subject, grade, school system, location, and price.
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When the Tutor receives a request, they must accept or decline it within 2 hours.
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By accepting a request, the Tutor understands that they are expected to commit to the tutoring package for the entire school year unless explicitly stated otherwise.
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Tutors should be aware of their schedule before accepting a request. If the Tutor is unsure about committing to a User for the rest of the school year, we highly advise you to decline the request.
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Satisfied parents are likely to renew packages or refrain from canceling during the school year. Therefore, we flag job cancellations as a result of either unsatisfactory tutoring quality, disintermediation, or lack of commitment from the Tutor.
On a weekly basis, Orcas monitors the following metrics to track Tutor success:
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Trial Success Rate (TSR) must be at least 60%
TSR is the rate at which your 1st sessions with new Users convert to 2nd sessions.
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Retention Rate (RR) must be at least 50%
RR is a cumulative rate over the year that measures how many unique Users started a package with the Tutor sometime during the school year and did not continue after 45 days (excluding exam packages).
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Starting Rate (SR) must be at least 60%
SR is the rate of accepted requests to started packages.
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Acceptance Rate (AR) must be at least 60%
AR is the rate at which dashboard-received requests are accepted
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Rating (R) must be at least 4.5
R is the star rating Users assign Tutors at the end of a package to rate overall experience and quality of your tutoring sessions.
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Availability
You are not rated based on your availability, but please note that Tutors should expect to dedicate at least 6 hours a week to Orcas-related work.
***Profiles of Tutors who perform below the stated metrics will be made offline:
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Offline status means that Tutors can continue with their current clients but will no longer receive new requests.
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For offline profiles to be made online again, tutors must submit an appeal request to Orcas. This does not guarantee getting your profiles back online again as it will be subject to supply and demand needs at that moment. If you're qualified to get back online, the education team might invite you to an online meeting for further investigation.
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Exam Packages and other short-term arrangements requested by Users won't be taken into consideration when calculating the Tutor’s rates or in an Appeal Request.
We want to ensure our Tutors continue working with us, so we try to make this process as transparent as possible.
Tutors will get an email notification when they are flagged for low rates. We understand it may take some practice, so we take into consideration the number of packages a Tutor has started and completed when holding them accountable for low rates.
***The metrics thresholds might slightly differ from one semester to another and from one academic year to another depending on the overall tutoring performance, supply, and demand needs.
Taking Money Directly From Users
Taking Money Directly From Users
Orcas Tutors are not permitted to accept payment directly from Users. In order for us to help you in case any issues arise, all communication (requests, chat, session confirmation, etc.) and payments must occur through the app. This ensures we can verify sessions and compensate you accordingly.
Users (parents/students) are not allowed to pay you in cash since Orcas cannot track cash transactions. Consider Orcas your receipt for payments to avoid any confusion, hassles, or misunderstandings.
Q: What should I do if the User wants to pay me in cash?
If a User offers to pay you in cash after a session, simply refuse and clearly communicate that this would violate the Orcas Partner rules. Ask the User to complete the payment through the Orcas app using a credit card or Fawry. Should any issue occur, kindly refer them to the Help Center and our dedicated Billing Team will assist them.
Q: I took cash from the User (parent/student) after a session, what should I do?
Don’t worry, all you have to do is pay the entire amount you received to Orcas either through credit card or Fawry. You can also drop off the cash at our office, schedule money collection (in this case, the fee is paid by the Tutor), or return the payment to the User and ask that they generate a Fawry code within 5 working days.
Penalty of policy breach:
Should you fail to inform Orcas that you received a cash payment or fail to pay Orcas the service fee in case you accepted a cash payment, your Tutor account will be deactivated immediately due to the violation of our Terms & Conditions. From that point, you have 5 working days to submit payment of the service fee or else legal action may be taken.
Working Directly with Users (Disintermediation)
Disintermediation is the act of obtaining a User or Tutor’s contact information through the Orcas app and working together outside the scope of Orcas. If you or a User requests to privately continue sessions and complete payments outside of the Orcas app, this would be considered disintermediation.
In case a Tutor is flagged for suspicious behavior:
1- An email will be sent explaining why your account has been flagged for suspicious behavior. This will also include an invitation to attend an investigation session.
2- If the investigation session confirms that you have been involved in disintermediation, your account will be temporarily deactivated.
3- You will be requested to pay Orcas the service fee for all sessions that occurred outside the app. This service fee is calculated by Orcas and sent to you over email. Your account will be reactivated once the payment has been received.
4- If you fail to attend the investigation session, this will automatically result in a confirmed case of disintermediation, meaning you will be asked to pay the service fee. Your account will be reactivated once the payment is submitted.
5- Failure to pay the service fee amount due within 14 days will result in your profile getting permanently blocked from the Orcas platform.
Orcas has the right to take legal action against you as disintermediation breaches the service agreement signed during onboarding.
Ratings & Reviews
Orcas relies heavily on ratings and reviews from both users and partners. Once a package has been completed, both parties have the ability to leave a review on their experience. However, certain content goes against our community guidelines:
The following content is never allowed on Orcas:
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Content created solely for the purpose of advertising or other commercial content, including company logos, links, or company names
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Spam, unwanted contact, or content that is shared repeatedly in a disruptive manner
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Content that endorses or promotes illegal or harmful activity, or that is sexually explicit, violent, graphic, threatening, or harassing
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Content that is discriminatory
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Attempts to impersonate another person, account, or entity, including a representative of Orcas
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Content that is illegal or that violates another person’s or entity’s rights, including intellectual property rights and privacy rights
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Content that includes another person’s private or confidential information (this includes content that is sufficient to identify any user's location).
***I added an incorrect rating/review, how can I edit it?
Contact the Partner Support Team via the Help Center. Once they assess the situation, they will respond accordingly.
***I received an unfair review from a User (parent/student)
The Orcas platform relies on honest reviews from Users and Tutors. Therefore, all Orcas Users are free to describe their experience as long as they adhere to the Orcas Community Guidelines. We understand that you might not agree with the review/rating you received, which is why you are free to rate your experience, as well. Please note, it’s very easy to overcome negative reviews in future sessions by adhering to the Partner Policies and guidelines we provide.
Tutor Levels
Tutors are categorized by different levels (either bronze, silver or gold) according to their previous teaching experience. We want our Tutors to gain experience and increase their hourly rate, so we have a point system that allows Tutors to move up in level.
1. Get 5-star ratings from Users when you complete packages.
2. Complete more Tutoring Experience hours. When a Tutor finishes a package, they are awarded points according to the number of session hours completed.
The Point System:
Achievement | Points |
|---|---|
Every 5 experience hours | 1 |
Every 5-star rating. | 0.25 |
Tutor Profile Photo
Your profile plays a crucial role in being selected as a Tutor, especially your profile picture. In addition to showing professionalism, your profile picture is critical for Orcas to provide a safe service. Uploading a profile picture verifies your identity and prevents the possibility of identity theft or impersonation
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Make sure to use a recent photo
We would advise you to use a picture taken within the last two years. If you don’t look like your profile picture, the User might report it.
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You should be the only subject in the photo
Given that this is a professional photo, you should be the only person in the photo. Please make sure not to upload a photo featuring someone else or distracting objects.
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Wear appropriate professional or business-casual attire
Remember: this is a professional photo, which means that you need to appear the way you’d probably appear in a professional context. Examples of what not to wear include beach attire, revealing clothes, or sunglasses.
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Your face must be the only focus of the picture
Make sure the photo you upload is a headshot with your face looking directly at the camera. Your facial expression should reflect kindness and competence, which can be achieved with a pleasant smile and confident eye contact. Please do not choose a photo that is “too serious” or “stern”. Group photos, full body pictures, cartoons, or other avatars are not permitted.
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Your picture should have a clear background
To follow our branding guidelines, the background of your picture must be a solid or gradient color. Orcas has the right to change the background of your image to follow the branding guidelines at any time.
If any of the above guidelines are not met, Orcas has the right to delete your profile picture and ask you to upload a new one.
Orcas Community Guidelines
As an Orcas Partner, you are expected to convey educational messages ONLY. Not adhering to this rule may be considered a violation of our terms and conditions. We do not tolerate any of the following behaviors on any Orcas communication channel, including in-app chat, reviews, and Orcas social media pages.
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Harassment of any kind (on any platform)
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Threatening to harm (on any platform)
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Discussing sensitive topics (religion, politics, gender, etc)
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Use of offensive words
Should you violate any of these terms, the Orcas Partners Team will assess your case. Based on their conclusion, they have the right to permanently block your Tutor account.
Orcas is committed to maintaining a safe space in which discrimination of any kind is not tolerated, including discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, disability, sex, marital status, age or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.
This policy extends to all communication conducted through Orcas, including personal interactions, reviews, ratings, and the provision and acceptance of services.
Anyone found to have violated this policy will lose access to the Orcas platform. Any Tutor or User who experiences discrimination, assault, abuse, or harassment can contact Orcas through the Help Center to report their case.
In addition to addressing discrimination, we are actively committed to investigating and dismantling barriers to equal participation on the platform. Moreover, we commit to ensuring wherever possible that the design, operation, and management of our platform does not contribute to unequal or discriminatory outcomes.
If you have feedback on how we can better live up to this policy, you can fill out this form https://forms.gle/gMUgprtZ6JSxicFGA with the option to remain anonymous. We will respond within 1 week, including outlining any relevant steps taken to address your feedback.