Need Help

[ruth_artola]

There is absolutely no way of contacting customer service.  This is my first online job ever. I thought any tracking would be done on behalf of the employer. They have a lot of excel sheets as well as other programs which help track our progress. I did not know I had to download an app to keep track of everything. I have my fellow coworkers, as well as my employer, as witnesses that I worked my first week. Now, I'm worried that I won't get paid. 

[alysegoody]

Was it an hourly contract? Have you added manual time?

[jr-translation]

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Ruth A wrote:

There is absolutely no way of contacting customer service.  This is my first online job ever. I thought any tracking would be done on behalf of the employer. They have a lot of excel sheets as well as other programs which help track our progress. I did not know I had to download an app to keep track of everything. I have my fellow coworkers, as well as my employer, as witnesses that I worked my first week. Now, I'm worried that I won't get paid. 

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Are you mixing employer and client?
If you are employed, your employer will have to pay for your time but if you were hired by a client and failed to follow the rules on how to track time, the client is under no obligation to pay you. The only thing that counts is the Upwork tracker not any person that claims you have been working. You might be lucky and the client pays you a bonus.

If you do not get paid for the first week, it is on you because you did not read the ToS and ignored all the pop-ups that tell you under which conditions you get paid.

[ruth_artola]

I didn't get a notice. Frankly, I would put something in bold at the end of the contract or link in red letters. Think what you want. Wether it's on me or not, doesn't change the fact that working a week and not getting paid is utterly unethical. There are many things that you could legally get away with that are clearly unethical. Thankfully my boss is cognizant of both my work and this blatant ethical oversight, and we're trying to fix this. @ Jen

[petra_r]

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Ruth A wrote:

Wether it's on me or not, doesn't change the fact that working a week and not getting paid is utterly unethical. There are many things that you could legally get away with that are clearly unethical. Thankfully my boss is cognizant of both my work and this blatant ethical oversight, and we're trying to fix this. @ Jen

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You can be paid easily enough. NOTHING is stopping your client from paying you. Nothing at all.

The client can simply pay a bonus (takes less than a minute) or let you add manual time. Problem solved.  No need for all this drama.and accusing Upork of some unethical stuff when you simply failed to use the tracker.

Upwork isn't withholding your payment from you. You didn't use Upwork properly. 

[colettelewis]

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Ruth A wrote:

There is absolutely no way of contacting customer service.  This is my first online job ever. I thought any tracking would be done on behalf of the employer. They have a lot of excel sheets as well as other programs which help track our progress. I did not know I had to download an app to keep track of everything. I have my fellow coworkers, as well as my employer, as witnesses that I worked my first week. Now, I'm worried that I won't get paid. 

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_____________________

Ruth did your client set up a formal Upwork contract (whether hourly tracked/manual or fixed price)? 

If not, you have probably lost out on the payment. 

Before accepting any more invitations or applying for jobs read this thread (and all the links), which will help you understand the payment methods and help you get started on Upwork. 

https://community.upwork.com/t5/New-to-Upwork/Getting-Started-on-Upwork/m-p/264214#M2460

[ruth_artola]

Lost out on the payment....... no my boss is opposed to **Edited for Community Guidelines**. I get the importance of tracking. However, I believe many jobs have ways to verify that you have indeed been working, or rather that it is evident, such as working on Excel spreedsheets on a shared drive and answering a certain quantity of emails, or working on certain projects, etc. It's definitely something that would be tricky to settle in court, and perhaps certain rights have been waved in signing up here. Thankfully my boss agrees with me! 

[petra_r]

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Ruth A wrote:

. I did not know I had to download an app to keep track of everything. 

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You have until 12 noon UTC today to add manual time to your work diary for last week, provided the contract allows manual time.

From now on, use the tracker while you are working so your time is tracked and invoiced automatically.

[ruth_artola]

i don't think it allows manual time. My boss changed the limit from 40 to 80 hrs a week to try and get me my money. The po=roblem is that when I left it on all night in only recorded one or two more hours. 

[prestonhunter]

re: "The problem is that when I left it on all night in only recorded one or two more hours."

For future reference:
That is not an appropriate way to use the desktop time-tracker.

The time tracker is not a time clock.

You were attempting to use it as a time clock.

The desktop time tracker is meant ONLY to record activity while you are actively working on a project.

It is designed to NOT record time during periods where there is no mouse/keyboard activity. Furthermore, the use of auto-clicker software is something that Upwork activlty tries to detect. If Upwork finds freelancers using auto-clicke software, it is likely to suspend their accounts or remove them permanently from the platform.

[ruth_artola]

ok

[ruth_artola]

It was my bosses idea, not mine!

[petra_r]

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Ruth A wrote:

It was my bosses idea, not mine!

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What was your bosses idea? 

WHY DOES YOUR "BOSS" NOT SIMPLY PAY YOU INSTEAD OF ALL THIS COMPLETELY NEEDLESS HYSTERIA?

[ruth_artola]

Easy on the caps lock there Petra, no need for hysterics.

[petra_r]

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Ruth A wrote:

Easy on the caps lock there Petra, no need for hysterics.

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touche 😉

[karinskold]

Who are your boos?

A client here on Upwork?

Don't understand what you mean with boss.

Manual hours is easy to fill in if the client allows it.

[petra_r · Accepted solution]

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Ruth A wrote:

i don't think it allows manual time. My boss changed the limit from 40 to 80 hrs a week to try and get me my money. The po=roblem is that when I left it on all night in only recorded one or two more hours.

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Get the client to allow manual time. Add the extra time as manual time.

Then the client can disable manual time again.

[prestonhunter]

re: "Lost out on the payment... I get the importance of tracking... It's definitely something that would be tricky to settle in court, and perhaps certain rights have been waved in signing up here. Thankfully my boss agrees with me!"

Your boss wants to pay you. So there is no reason to go to court.