Trust and safety is a top priority for Upwork, and our goal is to help clients find trusted freelancers who can get their projects done, while providing you with a safe and trusted marketplace to find work.
One of the ways we build and maintain our trusted marketplace is by providing freelancers and clients ways to rate and review each other at the end of a project, so you both share the positive and negative experiences you had over the course of the contract.
We address client complaints related to freelancer quality in two key ways:
- We monitor client feedback submitted at the end of each contract
- We review client complaints related to the accuracy of your professional background
End-of-contract feedback
If you receive multiple instances of negative feedback from various clients, we may block your ability to submit proposals and take on new contracts. You’ll still be able to work on existing projects so you can honor your current contract commitments.
Appeals
We encourage you to evaluate the feedback you received to improve your work. You can appeal the block on your account after six months. Learn more about appealing an enforcement action here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Contracts where clients reported negative feedback about your stated skills, experience, availability, or performance during the contract period are counted as negative feedback.
If you receive multiple instances of negative feedback from various clients, we may block your ability to submit proposals or take on new contracts. You’ll still be able to work on existing projects so you can honor your current contract commitments.
We encourage you to evaluate the feedback you received to improve your work. You can appeal the block on your account after six months. Learn more about appealing an enforcement action here.
Account blocks are placed after multiple clients have indicated that your skills, experience, or availability didn’t end up matching their expectations. This outcome is rare and impacts less than 2% of freelancers working on Upwork.
Sometimes, clients choose to only share negative feedback about their freelancers with us privately. The feedback form allows them to leave both a public review and a private one.
Feeling respected and appreciated for your work is important, and open communication with your clients about expectations and deadlines is critical throughout your working relationship. We have some tips for Approaching Clients About Feedback and how to Enable Your Client to Change Their Feedback. We also encourage freelancers to take our Working with Clients course in Upwork Academy for more best practices on how to communicate with clients.
If you are unable to come to an agreement with your client, you also have options to leave a public response that will appear alongside the feedback on your profile. If you believe your client has misused or manipulated the feedback system, report it to us. Learn more about responding to or reporting feedback.
