Thinking about working directly with your Time etc clients, outside of Time etc?


Our contract together


Working, engaging with or forming any kind of commercial relationship directly with clients that we've introduced you to isn't permitted at any time, including after the end of your agreement with us.


Doing so carries severe financial penalties. For more information see the freelancer agreement here.


Why is that?

 

It takes a lot of hard work on our part and costs a lot of money to find a client, get them up and running and keep them.  Each client's agreement is with us, not you, so if you contract directly with the client it's stealing.

 

You might think that working with clients directly is harmless - but it isn't.   It damages the entire Time etc community and the trusting principles behind it.  That's why we won't tolerate anyone doing it.

 

As tempting as it might be to work directly with clients it's risky too. Problems include not being paid on time or at all, lack of support when things go wrong, lack of other work opportunities and being reliant on one source of income.


What should I do if a client approaches me about working directly?

 

Be polite, tell them it's against our agreement and contact us immediately.  Since it carries severe financial penalties and costs for everyone involved it really is easier, cheaper and wiser to avoid the hassle and cost by declining straight away.

 

The great news is that if you contact us about a client approaching you directly we'll pay you an additional fee directly into your Paypal account to say thanks.  Normally we'll have a quick, friendly chat with the client and everything continues as normal.

 

What happens if I do it anyway?


If you engage, work for or contract directly with a client without our permission the following will happen:

  • Your account will be put on hold and any funds due to be paid to you will be frozen during our investigation
  • You'll receive an automatically generated invoice for the fee payable immediately to us under our agreement with you

Once issued the invoice raised for this fee cannot be cancelled.


Wondering if you'll "get away with it"?


If you're feeling shady and wondering if you'll "get away with it" - the simple answer is - you probably won't since we use earnings data, usage patterns and correspondence records to automatically spot when it's happening.  We're serious about keeping all work within the Time etc community.