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fiona_uk
Community Member

Can I pay a one-off introduction fee?

Hi there

I'm in an unsual situation. I am a freelancer with a very busy client.

They are looking for translators and I have been tasked with finding a number of translators.

I have interviewed a few via facetime on upwork.

I now wish to introduce a few of these candidates to my client (note that they would pay them for the work - not me).

My client may have immediate work - or it may be deferred until next year.

There may be one-off projects - or there may be employment opportunities.

For this reason they would rather simply pay an intro fee (within reason of course) as opposed to join Upwork and constantly message via Upwork - it would be quicker and more convenient for them to simply be able to email freelancers directly as and when work comes up. Is this possible? What would the fee be and where would the payment be made?

Thanks!

10 REPLIES 10
martina_plaschka
Community Member


Thanks!


Is this possible? What would the fee be and where would the payment be made?

You can hire freelancers for whatever task both agree on. If you wish to hire them for a project and continue conversation outside of upwork, you are free to do that. Just remember that payment will always have to go through upwork. 

petra_r
Community Member


@Fiona M wrote:

For this reason they would rather simply pay an intro fee (within reason of course) as opposed to join Upwork and constantly message via Upwork - it would be quicker and more convenient for them to simply be able to email freelancers directly as and when work comes up. Is this possible? What would the fee be and where would the payment be made?

Thanks!


 It is possible but likely prohibitively expensive.

Last time I looked it was a minimum of $ 2500 (per freelancer) - the so-called opt-out fee.


You referring Upwork freelancers you found on Upwork to an outside client who does not intend to hire on Upwork or pay the opt out fee is in itself a violation that could jeopardise your Upwork account.

 

fiona_uk
Community Member

Ok - thanks. So I can introduce people to my client but effectively they wouldhave to join Upwork and pay via Upwork?

 

re: "So I can introduce people to my client but effectively they would have to join Upwork and be paid via Upwork?"

 

 

If you introduce freelancers to your client who are NOT Upwork freelancers, then no, they do not need to be hired through Upwork.

 

In fact, there is no way for you to guarantee that they can even become regular Upwork freelancers. They might apply to become such, but they might not be approved.

 

There IS a way to "being your own freelancer", which means you can be guaranteed the ability client to hire and pay a freelancer on Upwork, without necessarily having the freelancer approved for hire by others.

 

Doing this is OPTIONAL.

 

Upwork requires that its platform be used to hire and pay freelancers found using Upwork. It DOES NOT REQUIRE that all hires done by Upwork clients be done through Upwork.

Preston, you missed the point.

 

Fiona has been interviewing existing, approved UPWORK freelancers from HER "client account"  but does not intend to hire them herself, her OFF Upwork client wants to hire them without creating an Upwork account.

 

When she said "but effectively they would have to join Upwork and pay via Upwork?" the "they" meant "the client." - The freelancers are already here.

 

 

fiona_uk
Community Member

That's it - I've effectively been vetting the freelancers on my client's behalf.

Now that I'm at the stage of short listing, it'd be great to simply introduce them to my client (for a fee that isn't massive!)

I'm guessing that's not possible - so in effect my client will have to join upwork?

Which raises the question, can the freelancer simply invoice my client (through upwork) and they pay accordingly?

 

Thank you so much for all your replies - much appreciated.

petra_r
Community Member


@Fiona M wrote:

That's it - I've effectively been vetting the freelancers on my client's behalf.

Now that I'm at the stage of short listing, it'd be great to simply introduce them to my client (for a fee that isn't massive!)

I'm guessing that's not possible - so in effect my client will have to join upwork?

Which raises the question, can the freelancer simply invoice my client (through upwork) and they pay accordingly?

 

Thank you so much for all your replies - much appreciated.


 Your client needs to join Upwork, but NOT hire freelancers he does not have work for straight away. Then your client can add their payment method and verify it. When he has work for one of them he hires them and either sets up an hourly or a fixed rate contract. He then gets charged automatically for the hours worked or milestones he sets up.

 

Communication can be per email or any which way they like.

 

Hi Fiona,

Just to confirm that offering freelancer to be paid outside of Upwork is a serious violation of our TOS.
In the case you have described, your client can either register on Upwork and hire the freelancer/s or pay the opt-out fee. This fee allows  your client and the freelancers to receive and make payments outside of Upwork without violating the Upwork Terms of Service Non-Circumvention Period.  Please review Section 7 of the Upwork User Agreement for details about the opt-out fee and whether it might be a good fit for you. Thank you.

~ Goran
Upwork

Petra: good point.

 

Exactly who is meant by "they" (freelancer or client) makes a big difference.

I would add that IT IS PERMISSIBLE TO PAY AN INTRODUCTION FEE.

 

But it is not okay to pay a "one-time introduction fee instead of hiring freelancers through Upwork."

 

If a client wanted to pay a fee to a newly introduced freelancer, the client could indeed do so. She could hire using a fixed-price contract and pay any amount she wants, as long as it is at least $5.00. The client could pay the freelancer this fee without having the freelancer do any work.

 

Later, if the client hired the freelancer to do any work, she would need to hire and pay the freelancer through Upwork.

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