New to working hourly - Confused

[seektheinfinite]

So as the title says, I'm pretty new to doing hourly work, only had a couple of hourly contracts and I have never come across this before. 

So when I go into the contract it's got my hourly rate $20, and the weekly limit being 40hrs/week. But there is also another category that says weekly payment and that is set at $50. So does this mean that I will only be covered for $50 a week and not the 40 hrs/week? I don't want to go ahead and do loads of hours of work this week if I'm not going to get paid for them. 

[petra_r · Accepted solution]

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Angela P wrote:

So when I go into the contract it's got my hourly rate $20, and the weekly limit being 40hrs/week. But there is also another category that says weekly payment and that is set at $50. So does this mean that I will only be covered for $50 a week and not the 40 hrs/week? I don't want to go ahead and do loads of hours of work this week if I'm not going to get paid for them. 

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That means the client set up a weekly salary which is IN ADDITION to the hours you log.

You had better contact the client and find out whether they actually intended to do that, because some people don't read very well and miss the clear description that explains how it works...

In general, ALWAYS clarify with the client how many hours you will be doing during any given week, so there are no nasty surprises on either side.

[seektheinfinite]

Ah okay, thank you, that makes sense, although I am pretty certain he didn't mean to do that, so I will definitely contact him now, and let him know. Thank you again. 

[lysis10]

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Angela P wrote:

So as the title says, I'm pretty new to doing hourly work, only had a couple of hourly contracts and I have never come across this before. 

So when I go into the contract it's got my hourly rate $20, and the weekly limit being 40hrs/week. But there is also another category that says weekly payment and that is set at $50. So does this mean that I will only be covered for $50 a week and not the 40 hrs/week? I don't want to go ahead and do loads of hours of work this week if I'm not going to get paid for them. 

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It means that you'll get $50/week plus the hours. There is a good chance the client doesn't realize what they've done. Before accepting the offer, I would ask the client if they realize how the billing will work.

[wlyonsatl]

Get this sorted out before you record any work hours.

The only time I had it happen to me I had to agree to refund the total billed amount to the client and they set up a new contract. It's quicker and cleaner to get the billing right before you start working on the project.