Job ad asking for free work as part of application still up after being flagged several times

[#1]

I thought clients asking for free work as part of the application process was not allowed?

I was invited to a job that demanded 30 min of work in order to be considered, have flagged it 3 times in 3 days, but it's still up. 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[#2]

Free work not allowed. It is ToS violation. Report it and move forward.

[#3]

That's what I thought. And I reported it 3 times. But it's still up. 

[#4]

So there are "clients" who are above the law and covered by Upwork.

[#5]

Hi Jo,

We truly appreciate you reaching out and reporting this. Mykola's indeed correct! Please note that any request for free work is not allowed on Upwork, and it is a violation of Upwork's Terms of Service. Also, a real client will never ask you to give them money to start working, cash a check for them, work for free, or provide your personal information. 

Your cooperation by letting us know if anything suspicious has happened by using the Flag as Inappropriate option throughout the platform is extremely helpful to us. Our teams are working to address the situation around scam and spam jobs, including higher than usual volumes of scam posts, constantly changing methods of scam accounts, and gaps in user education around Upwork TOS and safety. Additionally, I assure you that we'll continue sharing your feedback with the team and providing updates to the Community about the team's initiatives.

In the meantime, you may want to check this help article and this thread for more information on how to stay safe on Upwork. 

[#6]

Hi Arjay - I know all this.

My question was why, when I flagged this 3 times in 3 days, the ad is still up on the site. 

In fact it's still there now, despite you having seen my post above. 

What is the point of us flagging these TOS breaches if the ads are not taken down?

[#7]

Hi Jo,

Thank you for your response. I understand the frustration, but I assure you that our Trust & Safety team is aware of the problem and taking it seriously. They are working to address the issues, including higher-than-usual volumes of scam posts and constantly changing methods of scam accounts.

Rest assured that your reports will be noticed. They will review each report from our valued members and act accordingly if necessary. Feel free to check this post for an update from our Trust & Safety team and their efforts around addressing these issues.

[#8]

Arjay, the Trust and Safety Team are NOT taking this sort of thing seriously because this job is STILL live on Upwork. 20-50 people have applied to it and the client is interviewing 11. 

What is the point of us flagging these if blatant TOS breaches are ignored by the team?

The ad explicitly says:

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

This is the last time I'll flag anything as it obviously just gets ignored. 

[#9]

Hi Jo,

I am sorry for the inconvenience this has caused. I reached out to the team handling your report and the job post is now removed from the job feed. 

Thank you,

Edited to add information. 

[#10]

Hi Nikola - the job has NOT been deleted, it's still live. 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[#11]

I was invited to this same job -- and asking for free work.

[#12]

Did you also flag it? 

Not that that seems to help... 😞 

[#13]

Hi Jo, 

I understand your concern and would like to assure you that this has been reported to the appropriate team.

Please note that because of security and privacy concerns, we will not be able to share the results or findings of our investigations publicly. We take all reports seriously, and we will take action as provided for in our Terms of Service.

Once again, thank you for sharing your sentiments with us. We'll be sure to note your feedback and pass it along to the team.

[#14]

re: "This is the last time I'll flag anything as it obviously just gets ignored."

That is a very valid decision.

You are not obligated to personally clean up the platform. The key thing is that YOU are able to identify and avoid problematic jobs like that.

You have come to the realization that Upwork is not perfect, and Upwork's efforts to remove TOS-violating job postings are far from perfect.

That's a fact, and knowing that provides you with additional power.