Any HR-ish people about? AIBU that they won't adjust how I'm paid?

[LoTeQuiero]

Genuine AIBU here. I've namechanged as if I were outed it would be fairly disastrous!

I started working freelance for a company at the beginning of the year. It wasn't supposed to be a freelance position but I couldn't do the office time they wanted so we worked out a pattern that we were all happy with. We agreed an initial pay scale which paid x amount for x amount of work (in terms of research and carrying it out). Fast forward six months and now I'm finding that each piece of work is taking around double the amount of research so my output is lower but time spent working is longer.

They now want me in the office 3 days a week. This is difficult for me because of childcare but it is do-able. However they now expect me to pay for my own travel and carry out the complicated pieces all based on the same pay scale. I have explained my position to the CEO (politely!) during a conversation with him and also to my first line manager via email but they have both said the same thing which roughly goes - tough, you agreed at the beginning and the requirements haven't changed. Except they have, the complexity of the pieces has increased and the amount of research has soared.

I am not an employee of the company and I just don't know if what I'm asking is reasonable (moving to a more time-based payment scale, i.e. contracted to, or an agreement for, x amount of hours in which x amount of pieces will be produced). I haven't been specific but I have listed my issues (in a non-combative manner) and they don't want to know.

If I turn it down I suspect they will start to phase me out but if I accept then I suspect that a) I will lose money and b) I will be incredibly resentful and feel like I've let myself down.

However if I'm BU then please, please tell me and I shall suck it up!

TIA x

[JemimaHighway]

A clear, written brief for each element of this project would also be helpful to ensure that your expectations are met.

I think you should use "mandatory" rather than "helpful", which sounds like a wishy-washy request.




I would be happy to discuss changing the way in which I charge you for work completed to ensure that there is maximum efficiency in workflow to give you the greatest value for money. I think you need to say something like "when is your soonest available date to arrange a meeting to discuss these required changes" or something, as saying you're happy to discuss changing anything sounds like you're also happy for them to say no!

[JemimaHighway]

Or "essential" instead of "mandatory"

[MovingOnUpMovingOnOut]

So much better. You sound like an equal now rather than a junior member of staff.

[NoSquirrels]

Good stuff - hope it works, OP. The changing of the brief half-way through is infuriating.

I like this: It's necessary to allow for this time in order to keep the emphasis on high quality rather than quantity.

Remind yourself that it's your name and reputation on your portfolio, so when you pitch for clients in the future you don't want to be showing substandard stuff. If they want to go for volume over quality, they can look elsewhere and you don't need to feel beholden - you can get new work and sometimes although it seems scary to lose a big client you need to hold firm otherwise you end up devaluing your services.

[LoTeQuiero]

Thanks Squirrel I'm sending that email first thing tomorrow morning.

[LoTeQuiero]

I'm taking a risk here but I thought it might be of interest to put down his reply to my first push-back (this is the email I haven't answered)

"I did consider the point you raise at length but after contemplating this

it became clear that this wouldn't allow any flexibility for you to go
back to working from home and would likely cause problems with monitoring
your comings and goings to and from the office.

The rates already reflect the need to perform research, the brief in this
respect has not changed. The move to being more office based is to promote
an improvement in the quality of the writing but the net result will also
be an increase in output, which under the current regime will lead to you
earning more money."

[LoTeQuiero]

I'm fairly certain that I'll be told to sod off

[NoSquirrels]

"promote an improvement in the quality of the writing" - cheeky, I reckon!

Sounds to me like a fairly classic case of their poor organisation and not being able to provide a clear brief and hoping to wing it week by week by having you in-house where they can easily chop and change the workload.

The bottom line is that if the rates and the location and the workflow don't make sense to you financially or in terms of convenience, then you can look elsewhere and they can too.

In light of that email, I would chop yours back considerably and send something shorter i.e.:

Dear X,

Thanks for your reply of XX DATE.

If you would like me to now undertake work on location at your offices, I will need to charge a day rate of £180 per day, plus travel expenses, based on spending six hours on-site per day. Alternatively I can do one day per week of 8-81/2 hours on a Wednesday at a rate of £240-£255 per day, plus travel. It's not viable for me to work from the office under the terms of the original agreement.

As I mentioned before, the scope of the project has evolved from the initial pitch, and it's clear the terms of the current agreement aren't working for either side. Jane mentioned that you would expect four pieces per six-hour day in-office to be completed but currently that isn't something that is possible either in-house or remotely. However a clear, written brief for each element of this project would be helpful.

I would be happy to discuss changing the way in which I charge you for work completed to ensure that there is maximum efficiency in workflow to give you the greatest value for money, but without compromising quality. Let me know if you'd like to discuss further.^

[Stormtreader]

Cheeky beggar! That reply reads to me like "We think you're slacking and would be able to produce the work if you were in the office where we could make sure you're not watching daytime tv instead of working".

NoSquirrels's email sounds good, but you are going to have to be prepared the follow through if they do tell you "take it or sod off".
I really dont think you'd want to keep working for them with their proposed changes and attitude anyway, you'd end up being a pressured "employee" that they dont have to give any employee benefits to.

[LoTeQuiero]

Argghhh - just sent the email. Slightly different to the last one, shorter but still encompassing the main points.

I am literally shaking - but I know I didn't have an option. If they don't value my writing highly enough to want to keep me on then that's that. I'm not prepared to work for vastly reduced pay.

I will be back later with an update (hopefully). Thank you Squirrel for all of your help

[LoTeQuiero]

Yes, Stormtreader, I agree. That's exactly what it sounds like. If there has been any drop in quality then it's because I'm not being re-briefed as the project evolves. Bear in mind that my work is proofed before it's approved by the lead copywriter and I have had NO complaints at all from her. She stopped sending through the initial volume of work I was getting because she said she was too busy to proof. In fact, the whole office was too busy apparently. Then when I went in to see the CEO he said there was as much work out there for me as I wanted; both now and going forward. And then I mentioned the extra time needed and the whole thing blew up.

I'm nervous but I'm glad I've stood up to them. My self-respect would be shot to bits otherwise!!

[C4ro]

If there really is the impression on their side that you're somehow slacking it then it's not in your interests to keep working for them, remotely or in the office. They will be critical and be picking at your work. There is no way sitting in the office with him micromanaging it all over your shoulder will magically make it up to 4 pieces per day!

I think you should look hard for other clients and sack these guys off as fast as you can before the relationship deteriorates any further. The CEO sounds a bit patronizing to my ear.

[zipzap]

Have they noticed the change in the type of articles or are they kidding themselves that they're the same or deliberately saying they're the same because they know they would be more expensive otherwise? Have they just run out of ideas for all the easy to write stuff so it's now just getting more complicated?

Is there any way that you can judge in advance what an original type of article would be (say a 'standard' one) vs the new 'premium' articles - is there any way that you can say that you charge £xx for a standard article but £yy for a premium one due to the extra time required to research

Do you think they have somebody else lined up to come in and write? (even if they're not the same high quality articles that you would deliver, do they just want the cheap words and not the quality?)

If you think that you are on the way out or they want something that you want, then you probably do need to point out some facts to him again, especially given he was unaware until recently that your reduced output was due to you being given less rather than you not working as hard... Have you pointed out to them before this that they are asking you to do things that are much more complex? Have you got some concrete facts you can show them to say look, this is an early article I did and it needed this much research. last week the article you wanted needed double the research because xyz (needed to look in twice the number of places for references, had to go to a library as they weren't online, you wanted quotes from 10 different places instead of 5, or whatever is appropriate in your case)

I'd point out where they are differing from their side of the contract - I think you said they weren't giving you the things at the right time, they're not providing enough info in their initial briefs if they then come back to you with changes because you didn't realise the unwritten requirements they had and so on, that the flow of work has slowed down from their side and so on. They have to realise that this is a two way thing!

Good luck

(and I've just realised I typed this a while ago and forgot to press send so apologies if it cross posts with any info in the last hour or two!)

[NoSquirrels]

Courage, LoTe!

Maybe they won't be happy, but business is business, it's not personal. You needed to do this, and so well done for sticking up for yourself.

What zipzap says about their side of things - you need to point out to them the two-way nature of stuff. Sounds to me like their office is stretched (if company is expanding this is normal) and so they do need good freelances - they just can't expect to get or keep them for free! Hopefully the copywriter will stick up for you, as ultimately it will fall to them not the CEO to sort out the issue if you aren't kept on. CEOs are not supposed to micromanage!

It always sucks doing a difficult conversation first time, but the good news is it gets easier. I'm not self-employed at the moment, but been there and done that and also hated tricky negotiations but needs must. You'll feel better next time you have to do it!

[LoTeQuiero]

ZipZap - the articles have increased in complexity because the whole project has genuinely evolved. For example, the first articles were about divorce (bog standard, wide remit, pretty simple) and now they're about corporate distribution agreements. That's the difference! The CEO is also demanding more research and saying that if I don't know something - do the research. Which is fine, but it's halved the amount I work for!
They are saying that I "knew from the beginning there would be more research and the brief hasn't changed from that perspective". It really fucking has! I'm doing DOUBLE the research at least and each piece is taking longer to write. I think they're taking the piss. The same thing happened when they started wanting infographics; I went in for a meeting and they could not decide how to pay me so it ended up that I didn't get paid any extra for doing the extra work, it was all on the same banding.
They don't use freelancers, really. Or at all, actually. Only me. And they'd never let anyone work remotely before without being a long-term employee. So it's possible that they only want employees and I've just pointed that out to them. Whichever - the agreement isn't working with the new pieces and I'm not prepared to work under the old agreement. They've also been muttering suddenly about having to do some changes to pieces which has 'devalued' them. Wtf?! Out of hundreds of pieces, I have had, I think, two returned for minor changes?! Even the end result is rubbish, it still felt good to press send!

Thank you for all of the advice on here, you guys have shown a newbie freelancer how I should be thinking and acting and valuing myself.

Now of course I'm too scared to check my email!!

[Stormtreader]

Doing more research for what theyve requested, totally reasonable. Doing it for free? Not reasonable. Thats the reality of having someone who isnt an employee.
Ive heard (this may be an urban legend) that solicitors will even charge clients for the time spent in the shower "thinking about your case"!

[pluck]

They are trying it on, thinking that your ego will be hurt and you'll want to prove yourself....

It doesn't sound as though they are very prepared for, or prepared to invest in, their expansion and ambitions! Maybe it will be just as well to get out of there! It's crap, suffering for crap management, though...

[LoTeQuiero]

Do you think so Pluck? I'm staggered that anyone would behave like that on purpose! To think that I even tried to protect that woman from the CEO in the meeting (she wasn't there) by not revealing that the reason for the workflow slowing down was because she told me everyone was too busy.

[LoTeQuiero]

Ps. No answer by the way!

[pluck]

Well, being mean to a partner so s/he breaks with you is hardly unknown psychology!

Perhaps your work pattern was already too dictated by the company, making them legally your employers, and it was a risk!

However, it sounds more as though they are just expanding too quickly, and just can't handle it.... and maybe are a bit crap as well. That can be a feature of expanding companies: they have a legacy of employees, managers and practices which were perfectly adequate for the old size of business, but really struggle with scaling up, in size and complexity.

[wasonthelist]

Sadly, another thing I learnt as a Freelance was that you have no friends - certainly no-one at clientco and sometimes not even fellow freelancers. I loved the freedom from politics in the end - but sadly any "favours" I did anyone were never acknowledged or repaid - even when I helped others to get work.

[TendonQueen]

People know and count on it being very hard to stand up for the right rate of pay in these scenarios. You've surprised them by doing that hence the silence now. Good luck and don't back down.

[LoTeQuiero]

Thank you everyone! I feel that I've done the right/only thing to do. I softened the email slightly by not actually putting in any figures. I said I would need to charge a day rate, but didn't specify it, and outright refused to countenance producing four pieces of work per day and explained why.

Nope, no answer by the end of the day. I'm not bothered. I can't change their response and I'm resigned to the fact that they may let me go - made slightly difficult by the fact that they are about to launch, I know the CEO likes me and wanted me on further projects and no-one else is briefed as well as I am. In fact, the lady (manager-y one) sent me an email about three weeks ago saying that she and the CEO had been impressed with my quality of writing. Ha! I guess that's cut-throat business for you!.

Thank you everyone again, I'm really grateful and it's fascinating to see the insights of more experienced people than me. When I get an answer you'll be the first to know :)

[FannyTheChampionOfTheWorld]

If they keep pushing it, you're better off without them.

[rainydaygrey]

They're taking the piss OP. I'm a freelancer and have occasionally encountered people like this. Now I know how to spot them so we don't usually get very far.

Hopefully they will now see the light and you will be able to come to a decent agreement. (£40 is far too little for a specialised freelancer BTW.) But if not and you are forced to walk away, it won't be any great loss. Really.