by Francis
(October 06, 2012)
oDesk makes its money by charging 10% to all the transactions in addition to the cost of the work for the employer. So you might ask yourself the question: Can the employer pay you without using the time tracker in oDesk?
In principle, he could. However, this is against the terms of service of oDesk. If they know you are doing this, they can close the account of the employer or the contractor without any further notice.
Also from the one case I know it really happened, it is a permanent ban from the oDesk’s services. You will never ever be able to join the service again.
Is that worth it? I doubt it.
Sure the employer would economize a small amount of money when they would not use the oDesk tracking system. However, using the time tracker in oDesk has other advantages.
The screenshots from the work of the assistants are very useful not only for supervision but also for feedback for the quality of work. This alone is well worth the additional cost of oDesk.
To answer the question, an employer could but he shouldn’t.
Comments for Can an Employer Pay Me Without Using the Time Tracker in oDesk?
| ct 05, 2012 | Well There are Some Exceptions! Well there is another condition, in fact there are two exceptions where your employer should pay you even if you don’t track your time using the time tracker software.
Although there are some exceptions where you are not forced to track your working time, but as a virtual assistant I always prefer that I don’t work without time tracking. I think it really helps you to stay focus and evaluate your overall performance. |
| Jul 17, 2014 | time-tracker tracks time–not work 😀 I haven’t had any experience working in oDesk, but I do know they get a percentage of a contractor’s hourly rate (feels like a bum). It’s a dilemma that can’t be resolved right away. And if the issue is: “Can the employer pay without using a time tracker?” – definitely. I’ve had a couple of previous employers online who did not use time-tracker but they do pay me generously. The first time I had an experience with a time-tracker (rescuetime) was last year and it felt like someone/body is looming over me the whole time of my shift. For me, a time-tracker does not define the quality of work; it’s only a basis on the employer’s end if the contractor is working or procrastinating. |
| Aug 01, 2014 | Screenshots give you a good idea of the quality of the work The time tracker can not assess if good work was done, so far I am agreeing. But in combination with reviewing the actual work, the random screenshots taken by this tracker software are actually good hints on the way the virtual assistant is working. You can see if they get easily distracted, rework their work again and again, or if they do non-work related tasks on your money. So one form or another with screenshot taking software makes sense for most employers. |
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