How do I bring a freelancer who already works on Upwork but I found off-platform?

[scioncopywriting]

So, this is a weird one I guess because I was unable to find any information on this scenario.

I have found a freelancer on Linked In who asked me if I could hire her through Upwork instead?

But how I do this exactly without making her incur the 20% fee? BYOT seems to apply to people who don't already work on Upwork.

[prestonhunter · Accepted solution]

https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/360051696934-How-to-Bring-Your-Own-Talent-to-Upwork

The freelancer you want to hire, who you met on LinkedIn, already has an account as an Upwork freelancer.

You may indeed hire her through Upwork. Regular fees apply. 20% for the first $500 earned, 10% after that.

Or you may hire her NOT through Upwork.

[scioncopywriting]

Thank you both for your answers.

On the page that Preston directed me to, it says: "Please note that your freelancer will be charged the standard Upwork freelancer service fees."

What's the incentive to bring talent to Upwork then? I may have missed something.

EDIT: OK, I just realized that the Upwork fee gets cut ONLY if the freelancer brings a client to the platform. Makes sense; Incentivize freelancers to bring the "money" in.

[gilbert-phyllis]

If you hire her through UW then she gets certain benefits including payment processing and whatever payment protection applies to the type of contract you use. Offering a break on the UW fee is an incentive to bring new users to the platform. There really is no rationale for letting someone who is already here enjoy the benefits for free.

[prestonhunter]

re: "What's the incentive to bring talent to Upwork then?"

It's really your choice in a situation like this.

As a freelancer... I like having billing and payments handled through Upwork. There are a lot of advantages to it. I typicaly get paid faster and more reliably when hired through Upwork.