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70d7a67c
Community Member

Can i Fire my freelancer?

I hired a freelancer who seemed to be the best fit, however his work on my job is not up to par. His work on my logo does not reflect what i asked for, and simply isnt good. Can i end a contract and fire him/get my money back somehow?

19 REPLIES 19
colettelewis
Community Member

It would be bad form to try and get your money back. You should have been able to judge from the outset if the freelancer was a good fit or not. But can you not discuss your dissatisfaction with the freelancer rather than firing out of hand?

 

If not, pay him/her for the work done and close the contract giving your reasons to the freelancer, and then leave appropriate feedback (appropriate not a rant).

Can you fire your freelancer??

 

This seems like  ridiculous question. Of course you can fire your freelancer.


That's one of the great things about hiring freelancers. You can fire them at any time, for any reason. It is very much an "at-will" business relationship.

 

And freelancers can stop working for clients at any time, too, for any reason.

 

You don't even need to use the word "fire." You can simply close the contract and thank the freelancer for the work they have thus far, but you don't need anything more.

 

You can close a contract because the project is all done, or because you don't like the freelancer's spelling.

 

In fact, there is just one button for closing a contract. You use the same button to close a contract if you had the most awesome freelancer in the world, or if you had the worst one.

re: "Can i end a contract and fire him/get my money back somehow?"

 

Technically there are ways to try to get your money back, but that's not what successful, professional clients do.

 

Just pay whatever is owed and stop using that freelancer's services.

 

My time, as a cient, is too valuable to waste it trying to jump through the hoops necessary to get out of paying a bad freelancer for the small amount of money I spent to find out that the freelancer's work is not what I want.

 

I don't care enough about that freelancer to spend any more time thinking about her. So the ultimate display of disrespect is to pay her for all her time and forget about her. Don't elevate the importance of your underperforming freelancer by trying to pay her less.

Nichola L really? How do you assume that she/he has not tried? Perhaps that is why they are here?

 


Ian R wrote:

Nichola L really? How do you assume that she/he has not tried? Perhaps that is why they are here?

 


The original question reflects a fundamental lack of understanding about contractor/client relationships as well as about how this platform works. Therefore, Nichola's advice focusing at a very fundamental level was appropriate.

 

ETA: This thread is years old, I can't believe I got suckered into commenting.

natacharodriguez
Community Member

File a dispute only when all else fails – You should only file a dispute when working the matter out with your freelancer has failed. Please contact the freelancer before the Upwork weekly billing cycle ends to ask them to delete the improperly-logged time from the Work Diary. If it is too late for the freelancer to edit the Work Diary, ask for a refund.

https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211062158-Dispute-a-Freelancer-s-Hours

 

As Natasha points out, disputes are a "last resort" option.

 

But the great thing about NOT filing a dispute is that you no longer need to communicate with the underperforming freelancer, and you will have no need to talk to Upwork employees, arbitrators or anybody else about her.

 

Money well spent.

cupidmedia
Community Member

Jay, was this a fixed rate or an hourly job? When you say "it doesn't reflect what you asked for", do you mean that you just don't like it, or that it really is completely different to your brief? Is their work on your logo comparable to their portfolio in quality?

Jay. Jennifer's astute questions bring up questions -

 

1. Did you communicate with the individual the market you are trying to reach?

2. Did you share with him/her any core info on what your long range hopes and plans are?

 

Both are far more relevant that you might realize. 

 

A designer has specific knowlege as to why shapes, colours, shading, techniques, etc. appeal to different markets. If you have given a comprehensive brief, the designer could well be utilizing this knowledge in producing versions of your logo

 

Example:  whileI personally loathe the colour orange, I am also keenly aware of the positive responses it can trigger and why a designer might incorporate it.

 

Talk to the person - ask WHY before doing anything.


@Wendy C wrote:

 

 

whileI personally loathe the colour orange,

 

GASP!!!!!! 

Orange is my national color,  and I must admit I look fabulous in it!!! 

I'm shocked and dismayed by your colorism Wendy!!!! 😉 

 


@Mariska P wrote:

@Wendy C wrote:

 

 

whileI personally loathe the colour orange,

 

GASP!!!!!! 

Orange is my national color,  and I must admit I look fabulous in it!!! 

I'm shocked and dismayed by your colorism Wendy!!!! 😉 

 


At the risk of being edited for being off-topic (sorry, OP!)...Orange was my wedding color. I love orange. I had orange gerberas in my bouquet, my husband wore an orange tie, our invites were black and orange, our cake had an orange dragon on it...Orange everywhere 🙂 (And now I'm getting that thing where you see a word repeated so much that you start thinking it's spelled incorrectly...)


@Jennifer D wrote:

 


At the risk of being edited for being off-topic (sorry, OP!)...Orange was my wedding color. I love orange. I had orange gerberas in my bouquet, my husband wore an orange tie, our invites were black and orange, our cake had an orange dragon on it...Orange everywhere 🙂 

You make my heart swell Jennifer and if you aren't Dutch I'm making you an honorary Dutchie!!!! 😉 

 

Let me attempt to tie this all together:

 

Can a client fire a freelancer for wearing orange?

Yes.

 

Can a client fire a freelancer for NOT wearing orange?

Yes.

lomen_jan
Community Member

Can we see how you wrote your brief? I find that 75% of clients here cannot write one even if their lives depend on it. 

Next, if you made a good rief to freelancer, have you said what needs to be changed? 

next, if you said your revision inputs? yes, you an fire that designer, paid him that time he spent on your logo and give him bad feedback for it. (like one or two stars for skills) That said freelancer still did some work and you don't have to belittle him. It is after all, your fault that you hired that freelancer. 

Next time, choose your designer wisely and if they don't deliver, pay and leave.

Stupidity is a luxury item. 

I want to see wedding pics!


@Wendy C wrote:

I want to see wedding pics!


 I PM'd you Wendy 🙂

b28160b9
Community Member

It is now more than one month and the freelancer I hired did not do anything for my couple-of-days task!

 

what shall I do?

re: "It is now more than one month and the freelancer I hired did not do anything for my couple-of-days task! What shall I do?"

 

Close the contract. Assign the work to another member of your team. If there are no other members of your team, then hire some. With hourly contracts, of course.

 

As a client, one of the most important things you can learn is to say: "Who cares?"

 

That freelancer did no work. Why not?

Who cares?

 

I don't care.

You should not care.

It does not matter why.

Ahmad,

End the contract and hire someone else who is available to do your task in timely manner. One month is huge time. Time is as valuable as money. 

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