How to find out from charity if a freelancer got paid for 'voluntary' work I did?
Comments
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If I was the manager I would be cagey as well, especially as you seem unwilling to let this drop and would wonder what agenda you had for pursuing this matter.
Would it be to get payment for it or would it be to highlight some financial irregularity within the branch - and I can only assume that it's the later as you've said you've willingly given your time in the past.
So I guess the answer is no you don't but my question to you is if you'd been told he had, what would you have then done with that information ?0 -
...I think I'll leave it as it is.
So let me get this right.
Freelancer who gets paid for work he doesn't do = all good, nothing to see here
Me, longtime volunteer who does some work for free that said freelancer got paid for, who when asked 'What do you want out of this situation?' admits that some money for said work would be ideal = jealous money-grubber
Can't fault your logic.0 -
trailingspouse wrote: »I totally get where you're coming from.
You donated your time in good faith, to carry out a project on behalf of a charity.
Someone else comes along, who works on a freelance basis, and (knowingly or otherwise) invoices the charity for the work you'd done, as if he'd done it himself.
And you're concerned because you feel the charity has been cheated out of it's hard-earned money.
I think all you can do is raise your concerns with management. Explain that you are worried that they've paid for something to be done when it had actually been done for free. Beyond that, there's not much you can do about it.
At the end of the day, you're just trying to help by pointing out an unnecessary spend - but they might not want to listen. If the charity wants to waste their money, that's their call - but I would be looking for another charity to support.
No, that's all wrong. They had already paid the freelancer. Then they asked the OP to do it before the freelancer had had the chance to complete it. He didn't "come along" and invoice for work he hadn't done.0 -
SpaceisthePlace wrote: »I want to know what really happened with this project, and to know whether I am right about the freelancer being paid for my work. (I understand that I'm not entitled to see invoices. But it would be nice if the charity would admit it.) From there, I'm not sure. I'd face that when I came to it. At least I'd like an apology and an open discussion, as up till now the manager has been cagey and evasive. For me this is quite personal as I've been involved with the place for a long time, made friends and given a lot of my time. Obviously the charity deciding to pay me for this particular work would be ideal, I can't lie. But I know that's very unlikely.
Why do they owe YOU an apology? You've lost nothing. You've done work for free that you agreed to do for free.
If they owe anyone an apology, it's the donors to the charity whose money they have wasted.0 -
SpaceisthePlace wrote: »Because it's easy for a commenter to say 'My boss gets paid for my work, no biggie' when they are a salaried employee.
You seem to need to cool off a bit. Maybe go for a walk, or eat an orange.
Me being paid is totally irrelevant. If I volunteer and do work which my boss is responsible for, they still get paid.0 -
SpaceisthePlace wrote: »So let me get this right.
Freelancer who gets paid for work he doesn't do = all good, nothing to see here
Me, longtime volunteer who does some work for free that said freelancer got paid for, who when asked 'What do you want out of this situation?' admits that some money for said work would be ideal = jealous money-grubber
Can't fault your logic.
Nobody is saying this is fine. People are saying the charity could demand their money back, but only if they gave him the chance to complete the contract. If he didn't do what he was supposed to do in the time he was supposed to do it, he is in the wrong. If the charity got you to do it before he had a chance to, they have been stupid and wasteful.
The fact remains that you, personally, have not been cheated as you seem to think you have. If you want to raise the possible wastefulness of the charity, then go ahead and do so. But you will be doing so on the part of the donors and beneficiaries of the charity, who are the only ones losing out. Paying you would only make them lose out more.0 -
SpaceisthePlace wrote: »So let me get this right.
Freelancer who gets paid for work he doesn't do = all good, nothing to see here - Yes that could easily be legally fine. Your morals and ethics don't really come into it (except you may decide not to volunteer again)
Me, longtime volunteer who does some work for free that said freelancer got paid for, who when asked 'What do you want out of this situation?' admits that some money for said work would be ideal = jealous money-grubber - Well you were never owed the money so cant really help
Can't fault your logic.
I just don't see why you think you having a say over the charities finances is with-in your remit0 -
No, he is legally entitled to be paid for work he didn't do if the contract dictated that he would be paid and they later told him they didn't need it any more. He may even have already done it and just not given it to them. It really doesn't matter. If he was prepared to do it, and was paid in advance, they would struggle to get any court to return it. What question are you actually asking?
What is your concern here? is it mismanagement by the charity or do you feel you have been personally wronged in some way?
He hadn't already done it. The project was completed, from scratch, by me. He was on holiday when the project was being done, having already invoiced and been paid for the work. He knew that the project deadline was coming up and went on holiday anyway rather than stick around and do the work he'd been paid to do.
The question I originally asked was can I get proof of him being paid for my work. That's been answered.
My concern is the unfairness of recruiting a volunteer and then paying someone else for that volunteer's work. Yes I feel personally wronged. I have been volunteering here for years and trusted and made friends with all the people involved in this situation. They have withheld information and that has personally hurt, but it also is part of a lack of transparency in the charity that could affect other volunteers, and points to behaviour in the freelancer and manager which is unethical and bad for the charity.0 -
ScorpiondeRooftrouser wrote: »No, that's all wrong. They had already paid the freelancer. Then they asked the OP to do it before the freelancer had had the chance to complete it. He didn't "come along" and invoice for work he hadn't done.
What a sensible use of resources!!0 -
Thank you for a considerate and non-rude comment!I totally get where you're coming from.
You donated your time in good faith, to carry out a project on behalf of a charity.
Someone else comes along, who works on a freelance basis, and (knowingly or otherwise) invoices the charity for the work you'd done, as if he'd done it himself.
And you're concerned because you feel the charity has been cheated out of it's hard-earned money.
I think all you can do is raise your concerns with management. Explain that you are worried that they've paid for something to be done when it had actually been done for free. Beyond that, there's not much you can do about it.
At the end of the day, you're just trying to help by pointing out an unnecessary spend - but they might not want to listen. If the charity wants to waste their money, that's their call - but I would be looking for another charity to support.
Just to clarify, the freelancer was paid in advance for work he was supposed to do but didn't, and which I then went on to do, while he was on holiday.
If I'm right, and the freelancer was paid for my work, the manager involved knew about it. But I am going to meet the volunteer liaison and express my concerns. She could possibly take those concerns higher up. I am concerned for the charity but I also feel personally wronged for reasons I've given in other comments.0
This discussion has been closed.
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