If Upwork facilitates paying Bonuses, why not a system for penalties too ?

[mkhambadkone]

We've been on Upwork more than 2 years now, and have multiple jobs going on at any particular time.

We've had a fair share of Freelancers work with us ; story-writers, engineers, artists, modelers and testers, from all over the world. Almost all our projects are fixed-price projects.

In 80% of our projects, schedules are always met.  And we pay Bonuses to those freelancers who go "beyond the call of duty". 

There are the balance projects where it becomes frustrating having to wait on a Freelancer, whose deliverables are dependencies for others.

Why can't a formal Penalty & Bonus clause be enabled in the Contracts?  With reminders to Freelancers about ucoming due dates, to motivate them to complete.  Freelancers could even earn Upwork Badges for ahead of time Jobs they complete, or Bonuses earned.  

These Bonuses & Penalties should be outside the purview of Upwork commissions.

Until it becomes as part of the Upwork workflow, has anyone experience with incorporating Penalties in their agreements ?   Any advice on how to get freelancers who deliver on time, or most effective means to get them to ?

[prestonhunter]

Mahesh:

You have complete freedom to request any freelancer issue any type of refund at any time.

[JoanneP]

Hi Manesh,

You can check this help article for more information. Thanks!

[colettelewis]

From a freelancer POV, any time I see a job offer pertaining to my skills that mentions penalties, particularly when written in capital letters, I run a mile. Freelancers are not dogsbodies; they are self-employed and run their own business. If a client comes across a freelancer who does not respect deadlines or other specifications made by the client, then as Preston says, he or she can ask for a refund and/or give the freelancer feedback appropriate to the case, which is punishment in itself, as it would impact the freelancer's chances of getting more work. 

It is a client's responsibility to his or her own business to ensure that they hire someone who will deliver quality and on time - and for this, a client is likely to have to pay. 

[renata101]

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@Nichola L wrote:

From a freelancer POV, any time I see a job offer pertaining to my skills that mentions penalties, particularly when written in capital letters, I run a mile. Freelancers are not dogsbodies; they are self-employed and run their own business. If a client comes across a freelancer who does not respect deadlines or other specifications made by the client, then as Preston says, he or she can ask for a refund and/or give the freelancer feedback appropriate to the case, which is punishment in itself, as it would impact the freelancer's chances of getting more work. 

It is a client's responsibility to his or her own business to ensure that they hire someone who will deliver quality and on time - and for this, a client is likely to have to pay. 

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 It's also true that estimating is not an exacting science. It's often hard to know whether a project deadline is a reasonable one and it may be hard to predict work in advance. Freelancers who accept fixed-rate contracts often do so at their own risk, since clients are often not adept at estimating work they themselves don't do. And on the freelancer's end, projects sometimes end up being more work than they originally appear to be. 

We're not able to see the freelancers you're hiring. Nor are we able to see the types of rates you're paying or the deadlines you're setting for them and whether those are fair or reasonable for the work you're expecting. (Something to note: If you're not paying professional prices, you're likely not getting professional work or professional workers.) I get invites on a daily basis from people who very obviously have no clue about how long it takes to do their projects and underestimate the time "it should take a professional" to do them by at least half. I also get invites on a daily basis for projects that are budgeted at prices that haven't been current in my industry for the last 30 years.