Freelance Contract - Asking if payment structure is fair Initiator des Themas: Hai-Ha Doan
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Hai-Ha Doan
Vietnam
Local time: 09:40
Englisch > Vietnamesisch
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Hi, have you come across a term in a freelance translator's contract where the quality ranging from 0-97% is considered "Unacceptable" and the freelancer will not be paid if the quality is within that range?
In this contract, the translator is only paid 50% if the QA result is within 97.1-98.5%, paid 70% if the QA result is within 98.6-98.9%, and paid 100% if the QA result is within 99.5-99.7%.
The language pair is English - Vietnamese.
I'm not sure if th... See more Hi, have you come across a term in a freelance translator's contract where the quality ranging from 0-97% is considered "Unacceptable" and the freelancer will not be paid if the quality is within that range?
In this contract, the translator is only paid 50% if the QA result is within 97.1-98.5%, paid 70% if the QA result is within 98.6-98.9%, and paid 100% if the QA result is within 99.5-99.7%.
The language pair is English - Vietnamese.
I'm not sure if that is fair. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Emanuele Vacca 
Italien
Local time: 03:40
Mitglied (2020)
Englisch > Italienisch
Absolutely not! First of all, if "QA" means using something like Xbench (or equivalent built-in tools within CAT tools), usually 99.9% of the "errors" they show are false positives. But in general, reducing the pay is just not an option (except in extreme cases, i.e. if your translation is completely wrong or you just copied and pasted the output of an MT engine). The standard practice is that if the quality is unsatisfactory, the client won't send you any more work. That's it.
| | | | | Another absolutely not! | Oct 24 |
They seem to have invented a formula that allows them to... not pay!
| | | | Rachel Waddington
Vereinigtes Königreich
Local time: 02:40
Niederländisch > Englisch
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Hai-Ha Doan wrote:
Hi, have you come across a term in a freelance translator's contract where the quality ranging from 0-97% is considered "Unacceptable" and the freelancer will not be paid if the quality is within that range?
In this contract, the translator is only paid 50% if the QA result is within 97.1-98.5%, paid 70% if the QA result is within 98.6-98.9%, and paid 100% if the QA result is within 99.5-99.7%.
The language pair is English - Vietnamese.
I'm not sure if that is fair.
If you sign this you are agreeing that your client can withhold payment for completely spurious reasons over which you have no control.
Please don't go along with this nonsense.
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Zea_Mays
Italien
Local time: 03:40
Englisch > Deutsch
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No serious agency would have such a clause. They have to adhere to the four-eyes-principle first, as there is no such a thing like the perfect translation,
and how would they break down what is counted as unacceptable and how it would be weighted?
They'd have to provide you evidence of those mistakes, imagine what stressful situation this were, having to prove they are not... I would just run - after telling them that they are unserious and rating them on the Blue Board and elsewher... See more No serious agency would have such a clause. They have to adhere to the four-eyes-principle first, as there is no such a thing like the perfect translation,
and how would they break down what is counted as unacceptable and how it would be weighted?
They'd have to provide you evidence of those mistakes, imagine what stressful situation this were, having to prove they are not... I would just run - after telling them that they are unserious and rating them on the Blue Board and elsewhere for dubious practices. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgien
Local time: 03:40
Mitglied (2020)
Französisch > Niederländisch
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It seems impossible to express quality assurance into strict percentages.
It seems less impossible that this is a convenient way of trying to pay you less than you deserve.
I would never accept this. The mere suggestion of it would be enough to say goodbye.
| | | | Joakim Braun
Schweden
Local time: 03:40
Deutsch > Schwedisch
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Hai-Ha Doan wrote:
Hi, have you come across a term in a freelance translator's contract where the quality ranging from 0-97% is considered "Unacceptable" and the freelancer will not be paid if the quality is within that range?
Nothing remotely like that in what must be hundreds of inquiries from many scores of agencies.
If there's a quality problem, agencies will deal with it down the line. Usually by not hiring that translator again, occasionally by asking for fixes/revisions or a rebate.
Good agencies are confident in their ability to pick high-quality translators and don't need to fiddle with fine-print trickery.
[Bearbeitet am 2024-10-24 14:37 GMT]
| | | | Daryo
Vereinigtes Königreich
Local time: 02:40
Serbisch > Englisch
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| If that is not a barely concealed way | Oct 25 |
of saying to you "you will never get paid" (as we will always find some nits to pick) I don't know what else it could be.
That must be their entry in scammers competing "who will dream up the most abusive clause ever".
Don't waste your time on them, and if you want to help other translators, make it known as widely possible what is their idea of "fairness" so that others don't waste even a second on them.
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AllegroTrans
Vereinigtes Königreich
Local time: 02:40
Mitglied (2011)
Französisch > Englisch
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| At the end of the day | Oct 25 |
"Quality" is a highly subjective concept. Strict percentage measurement is simply dictatorial. Any agency worth its salt will treat quality issues on a case-by-case basis. In the event of quality disputes (I have only one or two in more than 30 years) I insist on an independent peer review.
I certainly would shun this agency.
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