Doing the affordable or ethical thing...?

[MrsMargoLeadbetter]

Last month I used a freelancer to help with some proofing. I found them via peopleperhour.com Their bid was extremely cheap competitive. £20 for what was probably a couple of hours. They did an excellent job.

I could do with this help each month esp DD is due soon.

However, as a fellow freelancer (and a nice person!) I feel a bit uncomfortable about expecting other freelancers to work on PPH rates on an ongoing basis. Having been there done that, seeking work on there seems to be a thing that people do when they start out but just working on jobs on there isn't feasible long term I feel.

But equally money is going to be tight, so I could do without paying them more than last time.

I haven't approached them yet about doing more, so this could all be immaterial! But I wonder what others have done in similar situations?

I know my DH will say, "just offer to pay the same..."!

ooh Margo you know I'm going to say pay them a decent rate...

If you've found someone good, don't you want to keep them on board and build a good long-term relationship?

That all said, £10 ph for proofing is not awful. But it's not great...and it's half the SfEP recommended rate...

Dont see the problem myself. £10 per hour, for lots of hours is good for where I live.
Maybe I am missing the point.

wilson I know! Thanks for the SfEP guidelines.

I suppose I just feel a bit mad offering to pay more, but as you say if it is to be long term then I am not sure they'll want to do it for that rate.

With their experience they are worth more than £10 per hour.

I have worked with a designer who I found via PPH and he has gradually increased his prices. I don't mind as realistically didn't expect him to work at that rate forever.

Thanks for the feedback.

You could always strike more of a middle ground and be open to suggestions the next time. Like, email about a job and then say 'what will your rate be?' Which puts the onus onto them to raise their rates?

The fair price to pay is the price they're happy to work for. As long as they feel that they're getting a fair recompense for what they do, everyone is happy.

I'm really, really good at what I do, and I know of other freelancers who charge a lot more than me for a worse job (I'm sometimes asked to re-do substandard work by more expensive freelancers!). But I'm happy with the rate I charge, and want to ensure my clients get an affordable service and value for money.

So yes, maybe approach them and ask what they would charge for ongoing work - put the ball in their court and let them suggest the rate.

And it's nice to see someone ethical enough to care about not ripping someone off :)

Thanks wilson and love will put the ball in their court.

Thanks for all the feedback and input.