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ridwansiddiquee
Community Member

Freelancers Rights (or Expectations? may be!)

Hi everyone! Hope you are safe and sound in this tough time. Something has just come to my mind regarding the safety of Upwork Freelancers and their rights.

 

If a freelancer gets suspended for any reason, does he hold the right to defend himself?

And does he has the right to know more about the exact reason behind his suspension than getting a reply like "You are offering services which is a serious violation of Upwork's policy"?

ACCEPTED SOLUTION

It is an interesting question.

 

Here is a very simple answer:

I have created many, many websites over the years. Many for myself, and many for other people.

 

When I create a website, I appreciate being able to control what happens on the site, how it is used, how it works, who can use it, etc.

 

I believe other people should have the same right to control what happens on their website. If Md. Ridwan Siddiqu creates a website, I believe he should have total control over how that site works, what is on it, etc.

 

I don't mean he should be able to do something heinous that breaks the law... but I believe that there should be very few external limits placed on him with regards to how he runs his website. If he sets up rules for his site, and somebody violates those rules and he suspends them from his site, I believe that it should absolutely be his right to do that. If he wants to remove somebody from his site who hasn't violated any rules, he should be allowed to do so, and if he wants to let somebody stay who violated serious rules, he should be able to do so.

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13 REPLIES 13
BojanS
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Md. Ridwan Siddiqu,

 

If our team detects any irregularities, they'll reach out to freelancer directly with more information about their specific case. For more information about the most common violations that may result in an account suspension and how to avoid them, please see this Help article

 

Thank you!

~ Bojan
Upwork

Hi Bojan,

 

Thanks for your response. My question was if a freelancer can defend himself after being suspended by the team. 

 

Can I please be helped with accurate information regarding the issue?

Hi Md. Ridwan Siddiqu,

 

Our team will reach out to the freelancer directly to provide more information about the account status. We won't be able to share any further information about what information they will require the freelancer. This will be requested from them accordingly. 

~ Joanne
Upwork

Thanks, Joanne.

a_lipsey
Community Member


Md. Ridwan Siddiqu W wrote:

Hi everyone! Hope you are safe and sound in this tough time. Something has just come to my mind regarding the safety of Upwork Freelancers and their rights.

 

If a freelancer gets suspended for any reason, does he hold the right to defend himself?

And does he has the right to know more about the exact reason behind his suspension than getting a reply like "You are offering services which is a serious violation of Upwork's policy"?


Rights are an interesting concept. What rights of yours has Upwork violated? Your human rights? Your civil rights? Upwork is a business. They have the right to remove you from the platform for violating the TOS. Period. Now, if they somehow violated your civil or human rights, then you may have some recourse. But the statement you gave above is pretty specific about what the TOS violation was. No, they don't have to give you an opportunity to defend yourself, and, no, it's not a "right." You have a right to a defense in a court of law. Upwork is not a court of law. 

Hi Amanda,

 

Thanks for the response.  I must say, Upwork is such a great platform. I always admire how Upwork ensures the freelancers are valued properly.

 

It was a simple question to know if the freelancer can at least know the exact reason behind it. 

 

It's because when you use the term TOS Violation (https://www.upwork.com/legal#terms )

the freelancer is not able to understand what term they did violate.

 

And it's not necessary that every question in the forum is to be directly related to that individual freelancer. It is allowed to learn the platform by asking questions to the experts.

 

I hope we can discuss anything in a friendly way.

 

Thanks for your time. 🙂


Md. Ridwan Siddiqu W wrote:

Hi Amanda,

 

Thanks for the response.  I must say, Upwork is such a great platform. I always admire how Upwork ensures the freelancers are valued properly.

 

It was a simple question to know if the freelancer can at least know the exact reason behind it. 

 

It's because when you use the term TOS Violation (https://www.upwork.com/legal#terms )

the freelancer is not able to understand what term they did violate.

 

And it's not necessary that every question in the forum is to be directly related to that individual freelancer. It is allowed to learn the platform by asking questions to the experts.

 

I hope we can discuss anything in a friendly way.

 

Thanks for your time. 🙂


It seems to me they did give you or whomever a pretty exact reason why. If the services you (or whoever) offer are a violation of TOS, then that's as specific as they can be. What are the services in question? What services were you or this person offering?

It is an interesting question.

 

Here is a very simple answer:

I have created many, many websites over the years. Many for myself, and many for other people.

 

When I create a website, I appreciate being able to control what happens on the site, how it is used, how it works, who can use it, etc.

 

I believe other people should have the same right to control what happens on their website. If Md. Ridwan Siddiqu creates a website, I believe he should have total control over how that site works, what is on it, etc.

 

I don't mean he should be able to do something heinous that breaks the law... but I believe that there should be very few external limits placed on him with regards to how he runs his website. If he sets up rules for his site, and somebody violates those rules and he suspends them from his site, I believe that it should absolutely be his right to do that. If he wants to remove somebody from his site who hasn't violated any rules, he should be allowed to do so, and if he wants to let somebody stay who violated serious rules, he should be able to do so.

Hi Preston! Such a simple yet great answer!

 

Of course, I believe, Upwork never suspends anyone unless they have solid reasons to. 

 

But it's really sad for the person working on Upwork as a Top Rated Plus Freelancer (who brings his clients to Upwork cause he believes in the platform and works as a preacher of the platform) being suspended without even understanding what he did wrong. I think such persons at least deserve to know the reason and move on.

 

People around the world work so hard to build a profile on Upwork. For most of them, it is the only platform to earn a living (especially in a 3rd world country). So they don't have the luxury to violate the rules knowingly or intentionally at all.

 

Just some thoughts that came to my mind after work.

 

Anyways, Thanks for your time!


Md. Ridwan Siddiqu W wrote:

 So they don't have the luxury to violate the rules knowingly or intentionally at all.


Such people should find out the rules first, then they can't "unknowingly" or "unintetially" violate them... The platform is drowning in such new freelancers... I see profiles of such freelancers day in, day out. Freelancers who are dishonest about their skills, their background, their location, their degree, their languages, who have overviews that were copied from others, portfolio items that are not their own work, who are profile building by means of fake contracts with fake clients and so on, and so on. 

I am all for Upwork getting rid of them. They harm the platform and everyone on it.

Hi Petra! Thanks for the response!

 

I agree with you 100%! No one should be allowed to have their businesses on Upwork without knowing the terms of service or by providing false information.

 

Thanks for your time. 🙂

tlbp
Community Member

Corporations are only bound to observe the laws. If it is not illegal to ban someone from a platform without explanation, then the corporation can do so. You may wish for an explanation, but you aren't entitled to one unless you have some specific right granted by law or contract. 

Hi Tonya! Thanks for your response!

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