🐈
» Forums » Freelancers » Re: Contract Suspended
Page options
h_parashar
Community Member

Contract On Hold

I am new to Upwork. Just two hours after I got offered this contract it's being put on hold.
I wanted to knw whether client has paused the contract or it's because clients account is suspended. I can see suspended written in contract page. Not sure if that means suspended client or suspended contract.

Thanks and Regards

ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Hi Ronnie,

 

There are two reasons why your contract may be paused:

 

  • Your client has decided to pause your Hourly Contract: If no work needs to be done at the moment, clients can temporarily and immediately pause a contract. This prevents hours from being logged on the contract, without the need to end it, until you are ready to proceed with the next part of the project. 
  • There is a problem with your client’s Upwork account: In this case, your contracts with them will be paused automatically and you cannot continue to bill that client through Upwork until the issue is resolved. There are many possible reasons this could occur, although we can’t share the specifics regarding your client’s account due to privacy concerns.


You can check out this help article to learn some tips on what you can do if your contract is paused.

 

 

 

Update: 

This thread has been closed from further replies due to its size. We appreciate your participation in the Community and welcome you to continue the conversation on this new thread.

 

~Andrea
Upwork

View solution in original post

509 REPLIES 509
08572adc
Community Member

Hi,

My client's contract is showing suspended but i have completed work and submitted on deadline.

WillI get my payment since payment is being shown in escrow ?

 

Regards,

Hi Mehmet,

 

Thank you for reaching out to us. I checked your account and it seems like the client has successfully funded and approved the milestone. Currently, the amount is on pending status but it should be available for withdrawal by June 17.

 

While your contract is paused, you may do the following: 

 

  • Stop working on the contract immediately – Any work completed during this time is not covered by Upwork’s Payment Protection.  Do not resume billing through Upwork until you receive a notification from Upwork that the contract is reactivated. Hours billed prior to the contract being paused are still eligible for Payment Protection.
  • Contact your client – Get in touch with your client as soon as possible to find out when the contract will resume.

 

All Upwork users have the freedom to end a contract anytime but kindly talk to your client first because it is always best if everyone is aware of what's going on with the contract and has a mutual agreement to close the contract.


~ AJ
Upwork
ghimire-smriti
Community Member

Hello Everyone,
I had an hourly contract with a client. I worked last week and tracked hours. Also, this week I worked a few more hours and submitted the job but the contract is now suspended for some reason and my client isn't responding either. My payment of last week is supposed to release this Wednesday. Will it be released when my contract is suspended? And will I get paid for the hours that I tracked this week before the contract got suspended?

Hi Aakriti,

 

If there is a problem with your client's account, we'll pause your contract with them. Please know that we can’t share the specifics regarding why the contract was paused, due to privacy concerns. While the contract is paused, you won’t be able to bill that client and should stop any work on the project until the contract is resumed. You can learn more here.

 

~Andrea
Upwork

Hi Andrea, Upwork refunded the amount that I worked and tracked before the contract got suspended last week. Today when I checked my weekly summary the amount is deducted from the weekly payment. I haven't even got the payment why should I refund them when I am the victim here? Please make this clear to me I am worried now.

Hi Aakriti,

 

Thank you for your message. I see that the team has already notified you about the reversals via a support ticket here. Please don't hesitate to follow up with them on the support ticket if you have additional questions regarding your concern. You can view and respond to the Solved ticket via the notification sent to your registered email address.

 

Thank you,

Pradeep

Upwork
siwtech
Community Member

Hello,
Let me know shat should I do with this, can I close the project myself now?
I have been started the new project 2 months an ago, then 2nd day my client account has been suspended

Hi Shan,

 

You're free to close any contract on Upwork at any time. If your client is unresponsive and you don't believe they will be addressing the suspension on their account, it might be a good idea to end the contract.

 

~Andrea
Upwork
aqsa_majeed29
Community Member

Hi,

 

I've been working with my client I have a weekly billing period it was an hourly project. Last Friday, My question is, I have a pending billing. Can I still get that payment? And my client said that Upwork support has no response yet with the problem. 

 

Thanks for answering,

Hi Aqsa,

I can see you were able to submit a support ticket with our team regarding this. Please allow some time for our team to review and they will update you directly via ticket as soon as possible.

~Andrea
Upwork
fezalkhan35
Community Member

Hello,


Could you please let me know why I am getting this message ?
" Upwork is investigating an issue. Please do not resume work with this client until the contract is active again. "

Thank you

Hi Fezalkhan,

 

This means your contract is paused. To help protect both you and your clients, we pause contracts in certain situations. If your contract is paused, we advise that you stop work immediately and contact your client. We can’t share the specifics regarding why the contract was paused, due to privacy concerns. Check out this help article to learn more. 

 

~Andrea
Upwork
3746bedf
Community Member

Hello, 

one of my contracts was put on hold by Upwork and then they refunded the money back to the client without my permission. It was a fixed priced contract and the client got the job done free of charge. Upwork is not responding. 

hi Julia,

           Usually when a contract is on hold it means that UPwork is investigating the client for a breach of Upwork's ToS.

Hi Julia,

 

Thank you for reaching out to us. I can see that you have initiated a support ticket regarding this already. I followed up with our team and one of our agents will respond to your ticket to assist you further. You can access your support tickets on this page.

 

Also if your contract is paused, we advise that you stop work immediately and contact your client. We can’t share the specifics regarding why the contract was paused, due to privacy concerns. Check out this help article to learn more. 


~ AJ
Upwork
5ae5a6bb
Community Member

Hello,

 

I have a contract with my client. Upwork paused the contract saying that there is a problem with client account.

What's the problemdo i know?

Hi Azeem,

 

If there is a problem with your client's account, we'll pause your contract with them. Please know that we can’t share the specifics regarding why the contract was paused, due to privacy concerns. While the contract is paused, you won’t be able to bill that client and should stop any work on the project until the contract is resumed. You can learn more here.


~ AJ
Upwork
c8d6d0ae
Community Member

Hi, I was trying to register the hours of work and I can't do it because says "Upwork is investigating an issue. Please don't resume your work with this client until the contract is active again" can somebody help me?

Hi Odalin,

 

Please keep in mind that If a contract is on hold, it means that there is a problem with your client’s Upwork account, and you cannot continue to bill that client through Upwork until the issue is resolved. There are many possible reasons this could occur, although we can’t share the specifics regarding your clients' accounts due to privacy concerns. However, I can confirm that our team has already reached out to your client to assist them further with the status of their account. You can check this help article to better understand how the procedures work.

 

 

 

~ Arjay
Upwork
nidhiagrawal1
Community Member

Hello Everyone,

Recently, I worked for a client who created a fixed price project with multiple milestones. Some milestones I submitted on upwork. Suddenly she started saying can you submit the work over the email for confidentiality reasons and I accepted that. She created a email for me. When I submit the work on email, i was getting paid on upwork. Slowly I submitted some more milestones on email and I keep asking her to approve the payment on Upwork but suddenly the upwork project got suspended. Still we were in touch over the email and chats and I keep insisting to release my payment, she didn't and now that email is also not working. 

How can I get my payment?

Any suggestions?

I haven't received my payment yet  Client is not responding 

Hi Nidhi,

 

Please keep in mind that If a contract is on hold, it means that there is a problem with your client’s Upwork account, and you cannot continue to bill that client through Upwork until the issue is resolved. There are many possible reasons this could occur, although we can’t share the specifics regarding your clients' accounts due to privacy concerns. However, I can confirm that our team has already reached out to your client to assist them further with the status of their account. You can check this help article to better understand how the procedures work.


~ AJ
Upwork

You will never get your payments and there is nothing you can do about it.

mac313
Community Member

I was working with a client and clocked 37 hours. but Upwork paused my client account. So all the amount is still pending and not approved. I am afraid of not getting the payment. What should I do now?

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Hi Hassan,

 

Thank you for reaching out to us. If there is a problem with your client’s Upwork account or billing method, we’ll pause your contract with them. While the contract is paused, you won’t be able to bill that client and should stop any work on the project until the contract is resumed. We’ll let you know if we have paused one of your client’s contracts, and we’ll also let you know when we reactivate the contract. We can’t share the specifics regarding why the contract was paused, due to privacy concerns.

 

If your contract is paused:

 

  • Stop working on the contract immediately — Any work completed during a contract pause is not covered by Upwork’s Payment Protection programs. For hourly contracts, don’t worry, hours that you billed prior to the contract being paused are still eligible for payment protection.

  • Contact your client — You can still message your client on Upwork when contracts are paused. We recommend that you get in touch with your client as soon as possible to find out when they expect the contract to resume. If you don’t get a response from your client, use the Get Support button (in the bottom-right corner of this page) to contact us and ask us to reach out to the client on your behalf.

 

Your logged hours will be covered by Upwork if they meet the criteria listed here


~ AJ
Upwork
mac313
Community Member

Hi, I want to know when my client's contract resumes by Upwork.

mac313
Community Member

Hi, I want to know when my client's contract resumes by the Upwork.

Hi Hassan,

 

Thank you for reaching out to us. Please know that we won't be able to provide the information you are requesting since it depends on many factors.

To help protect both you and your clients, we pause contracts in certain situations. For example, if there is a problem with your client’s Upwork account or billing method, we’ll pause your contract with them. While the contract is paused, you won’t be able to bill that client and should stop any work on the project until the contract is resumed.

We’ll let you know if we have paused one of your client’s contracts, and we’ll also let you know when we reactivate the contract. We can’t share the specifics regarding why the contract was paused, due to privacy concerns.

 

You can find more information in this help article

~ Nikola
Upwork

I have also faced this situation recently. will it affect a freelancer's profile?

Hi Abubakar, 

 

If your client's account and your contract with them is put on hold, it will not have any effect on your profile, as long as your account is in good standing. If there are any issues with your account, Upwork team will reach out and let you know.

 

~ Nikola
Upwork

It says, Paused by Upwork, I contacted the client and he says, the account is gone. what is it mean?

Hi Abubakar,

 

Thank you for your message. I suggest that you contact your client about what they mean about this as I don't see any account being 'gone'. 


~ AJ
Upwork

Hi Annie. Thanks for the message. He was saying, the account is gone. and was asking to resolve the issue but I denied it.

I logged almost less than an hour and got its amount as well. so what is next now? how can my client end the contract?

Hi Abubakar,

 

Please know that we can’t share the specifics regarding why the contract was paused, due to privacy concerns. You can find more information in this help article

You should be able to close any contract at any time. You may want to discuss the terms of further engagement on the contract with your client. 

 

~ Nikola
Upwork
jloumanibo
Community Member

My client's account got suspended today (Friday, July 😎 and I'm not sure how that will affect my pay from June 27 - July 3 and July 4 to July 7.  Will I still get paid? 😞 

Hi Jennifer,

 

Thank you for your message. I am sorry to hear about your contract. I see that your client account has been placed on hold. I am unable to discuss further details of other user's accounts with you. Your client will have to clear the pending issue on their account to restore your contract and process the payments.   

 

Thank you,

Pradeep

Upwork

No, not unless you used the time tracker.

82cd0cbb
Community Member

Hi! I have a problem. My contract was paused or suspended by Upwork. What's the problem? Does it mean I was scammed? How about the whole week I worked for it? Will I still get paid? It's hourly. Looking forward to your response. Thank you. 

 

Untitled design (15).png

Hi Jennifer,

 

Thank you for your message. I am sorry to hear about your contract. I see that your client account has been placed on hold. I am unable to discuss further details of other user's accounts with you. Your client will have to clear the pending issue on their account to restore your contract and process the payments. 

 

Thank you,

Pradeep

Upwork

Hi! What if the client was unable to to clear the pending issue? I would'nt get may payment? My time and effort will be wasted? I thought you have hourly preotection program?  

Hi Jennifer,

 

Yes, we do! You can check all of the requirements to qualify and how it works here.

 

~Andrea
Upwork
Latest Articles
Featured Topics
Learning Paths