Compliance is ensuring that clients and their workers are engaging in working relationships that comply with the laws in their respective locations.
We instituted this program as a way to help clients with the need for worker classification. Worker Classification is the evaluation of engagement details to determine if the worker can be considered an Independent Contractor (IC) or needs to be considered a Leased Employee (AOR) according to the local employment laws.
Compliance is a multiple-stage event that requires the participation of Clients, Freelancers, and Upwork, and generally takes 3-5 business days to complete.
All freelancers working with an Enterprise with compliance client will be required to complete full onboarding before the first offer can be accepted. For each offer afterward, the freelancer may need to complete some or all onboarding steps again to ensure the information provided is up to date and accurate, and that the freelancer is being properly classified.
The freelancer will be asked to complete several tasks during onboarding. Tasks can include reviewing and accepting customized agreements or completing background check authorization forms. These tasks are outlined on the offer page and can differ by Upwork Enterprise client and by project. To make a classification determination, the Upwork compliance team reviews details regarding the project and the freelancer’s business. Depending on the scope of the project, Upwork may ask a freelancer to submit information to confirm that they’re self-employed and otherwise running their own business—especially if they’re new to using Upwork.
According to our User Agreement, the Upwork website is offered for business purposes only, and all users must have their own business unless they use Upwork solely as an employee working for a registered Agency. A freelancer can be considered a business as a self-employed individual (a sole proprietor) or as a business entity.
During the onboarding process, the freelancer can chat with their compliance specialist from the Review Terms portion of the offer.
Identifying a Compliance Contract:
- Sudo: Job > My Jobs > Active Contracts > Staffed by iWorkGlobal Payroll
- OBO: Contractor > Assignment > Agency > Upwork Payroll - iWorkGlobal
Freelancer FAQs and Related Links https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/226486807-Upwork-Talent-Group-
Onboarding (Compliance) tasks are completed during BYO and are submitted directly to the client. Once the tasks are complete, they are marked as such from the client’s side.
At this time agencies cannot view the tasks and any questions about the tasks should be directed to the client.
Worker Classification Types:
- IC - Independent contractor - paid via the platform
- AOR - Agent of Record/payrolled employee - Upwork Payroll (iWG)
Classification (onboarding updates) can be requested in Slack:
- #ask-enterprise-compliance - questions relating to classification and onboarding support for COMPLIANCE accounts.
- #ask-enterprise-onboarding - onboarding task support for NON-COMPLIANCE accounts
Identifying a Compliance account:
- Sudo: Settings Menu > Enterprise Compliance context
- OBO: Account > Client > Company Name - Upwork Talent Group
Onboarding is a streamlined, time-efficient tool used to reduce onboarding times from 30+ days to 3-5* business days.
*Most onboarding is complete within 3-5 business days, however, international onboarding can take up to 45 days.
Does every ENT client have compliance services?
No. There are 2 types of Enterprise clients:
- Enterprise Standard (without Compliance Services)
- Enterprise Compliance (with Compliance Services)
If a client uses the onboarding tool but they are Business or Enterprise Standard, who can give me an update?
Clients are responsible for requesting, receiving, and marking onboarding tasks complete. Onboarding will only assist with Enterprise Compliance contracts.
What are Compliance agents called?
- Onboarding
- Compliance Specialist
- Engagement Coordinator