This privacy policy aims to inform you about the policies and procedures used to collect, use, and disclose the information throughout the website. It applies to all the features, applications, widgets, and services that are a part of our website. It also defines the choices you get related to the use, access, and the way you update or correct your personal info. It should be noted that some of the services mentioned here might not be available on service all the times. In this section, we have mentioned the brief about our Privacy Policy so that you learn how we collect your information, what is collected, how we use the information, the choices you get regarding it. It is highly recommended that you read the below brief points to better understand our data practices.

1. Information Collection

The user base of this website includes Freelancers, Clients, and Agencies.

Fixnhour's vision

To connect businesses with great talent to wrok without limits.

Fixnhour's mission

To create economic opportunities so people have better lives.

A new way of working is born

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.

This User Agreement (this “Agreement”) is a contract between you (“you” or “User”) and Fixnhour (“Fixnhour,” “Company, “we,” or “us”) that entitles you to be a user of www.fixnhour.com (our website), effective from the date you agree and accept all the terms and conditions mentioned in this Agreement.

Fixnhour, in its sole discretion, holds the right to keep this Agreement in effect and update it from time to time. As a user of this site, you will be updated about any amendments done prior by email. Also, an official notice on the site will serve as an intimation to review updated terms and conditions in case of a substantial change, fee revision and similar.

The usage of our site indicates that you have read, understood and comply with the terms and conditions, instructions, policies, etc mentioned in this agreement.

1. Fixnhour Accounts-

a. Eligibility- To access Fixnhour site and use its services, you must register yourself and represent as an individual (self-employed or sole proprietor) or as a company (LLC, Private Limited or any such entity). To register on our site, you must be an individual older than a specified age (18 years) to conduct and manage business activities or a legally recognized organization to bind in legal contracts. By registering on our site you,

(i) conform to our policies, licensing, registration and agreement terms as an individual or on behalf of your organization.

(ii) agree to only use our services and site for business purposes.

b. Registration & Acceptance- Several sections of the site are available to our site visitors, however, if you wish to access our services and site’s premium features, you must register for an account with us. Once registered and accepted, you will be able to access the restricted sections of the site.

By registering, you agree and accept our terms of service and authorize yourself and your company to participate in different kinds of binding contracts.

Fixnhour, with complete authority, holds the right to decline a registration request for an account as a freelancer or client.

c. Types- Fixnhour allows you to create different account types (client and freelancer/agency) under the same registered username and password. Say, for example, you are registered with us as a freelancer and want to add a client account as well, in such a case, you don’t need to re-register for a different account. This can be done from the settings section in your account.

We do not encourage more than one account for the same user (individual or company). Agreeing to our terms of service ascertains that you will not hold more than one account on our site. In case we come to know that you are involved in erroneous practices and misled us while creating your account with false information, we will revoke your access to the site and all privileges associated with the account immediately.

- Client Account: You can open a client account with us to access our site and collaborate with legit agencies and freelancers around the globe for business purposes. You can add the account type from the settings section. You can create different users under a client account with different permissions based on their roles in the organization to conduct activities on behalf of the client.

- Agency and Freelancer Account: You can register as a freelancer or an agency on Fixnhour to find and work with global clients. Under an agency account, you can create multiple agency members with unique permissions based on their designations or roles to act on behalf of the agency.

An agency registered on Fixnhour is responsible and liable to the following:

(i) recognizing and classifying agency members as employees

(ii) paying agency members for the work done according to law An agency agrees,

(i) to determine profile visibility and pricing information of its members on the site

(ii) to let its members showcase their samples and work history on their profiles, including the tasks accomplished while working under the agency as an agency member as well as when no longer an agency member.

d. Profile- To have an account on our site, you need to enter certain details, stored to make viewers aware of your skills, identity, location, services and similar things. The details entered by you will be made public on our site unless you take a moment to change it to private from privacy settings.

You declare,

(i) the information provided by you is true and complete.

(ii) to update details in future to maintain its truthfulness and authenticity.

(iii) to correct any misleading information in your account.

e. Permissions- You cannot allow a third person to open or manage an account on your behalf except the members you authorize to act on behalf of your business. User permissions granted to an authorized member means you warrant that

(i) the user can act on behalf of your business

(ii) you will be financially responsible for activities carried out by the user

(iii) you will solely be responsible for actions of the user, including binding into contracts, making payments or acceptance of terms of service.

Violating terms of service by an authorized user may result in account suspension or complete termination of your and all other associated accounts.

f. Verification- After you register with Fixnhour, you will be subjected to time to time verification of your as well as your business’s identity and location. You authorize Fixnhour to perform any sort of verification of your or your business’s identity, location, documents and validate ownership of your financial accounts and email addresses, directly or via third-party verification agencies (if any). You accept to provide supporting valid legal and official government documents whenever requested.

g. Username & Passwords- For registration, you will be asked to select a username and password. It is recommended to not share your username and password with anyone outside your business or with someone who is not authorized to act on your behalf on Fixnhour. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account. Fixnhour assumes that the person using the site, signed in using your username and password, is either you or the one authorized by you for dealing with clients or acting on your behalf. You will be held responsible if terms of service are found to be violated. This may also result in termination of the services for the detected account and all accounts related to it.

2. Purpose of Fixnhour

Fixnhour bridges the gap between service providers and service seekers by providing a platform to connect, collaborate, advertise, buy or sell freelance services online. We help users to facilitate service contracts formation and assist to resolve disputes associated with the same. You, as the user of the site, owe to the terms of service mentioned in the service contract.

a. Relationship with Fixnhour- Fixnhour is a mere site that enables freelancers around the globe to connect with clients across boundaries for business. Fixnhour does not (i) endorse or introduce any freelancer to clients (ii) find freelancers for clients (iii) find projects for freelancers.

Fixnhour, however, notifies (i) freelancers of a task or project or service similar to what they offer (ii) clients of freelancers who may suit their requirements. Fixnhour does not act as a party in any service contract and users are directly associated with one another, bound together by a service contract. Users are solely responsible for signing any sort of contract and hold liable for selecting a service provider or service seeker. Fixnhour does not guarantee or take any responsibility of the freelancer’s or client’s listings or user-uploaded content on the site, including previous work samples, completed projects and experience. We do not verify feedbacks and reviews about freelancers or agencies or clients on the site as they are a part of user-uploaded content. We also do not perform background checks on agencies, freelancers or clients. You understand, agree and acknowledge that Fixnhour is not, in any way, responsible for any contract terms, project terms or project. You agree that Fixnhour should not be held responsible for quality, legality, safety, identity, qualification, experience, background and ability of a freelancer or freelancer services. You further agree and acknowledge that Fixnhour should not be held responsible for the ability of (i) freelancers to deliver work projects (ii) clients to pay for requested services (iii) users to complete a transaction and (iv) user-generated content on the site.

Fixnhour does not (i) manage, control or supervise any freelancer, agency or agency member (ii) impose deadlines on any freelancer or monitors freelancer’s performance (iii) provide the premises or any kind of equipment to the freelancer or agency or agency member for project completion (iv) get involved in freelancer’s and agency’s pricing, work hours & schedule and fees decisions (v) guarantee a fixed monthly salary or minimum regular wages to any freelancers or agency members.

Fixnhour, in any circumstances, will not be liable to act on allegations related to service contracts, mutually signed by the users. Freelancers or agency or agency members are solely responsible and free for accepting/declining a client offer and estimating or quoting a price and time required for a project. Freelancers, agencies or agency members are paid by the client on a contractual basis at times as mentioned and agreed with a client in the service contract. The agency is solely responsible to pay its agency members for the work done on behalf of the agency, such payment transactions are not done through the site.

b. Taxes and Benefits- Fixnhour does not withhold any taxes from payments made to freelancers through the site by clients. Fixnhour does not provide any kind of insurance to freelancers. Fixnhour does not examine or determine invoices issued by freelancers, required or not required by applicable law. Freelancer is solely responsible for determining the need for issuing invoices to the clients by applicable law. Freelancer does not hold any right to demand any kind of compensation or insurance from Fixnhour. Freelancer is liable to pay tax for the payments received from clients through Fixnhour or any value-added tax to the authorities. Freelancer agrees to provide a copy of tax return, any official documents and other records required in case of an audit of Fixnhour to show business independence of a freelancer.

3. Client and Freelancer Relationship

In this section, we have mentioned the relationship that you may be building with other users, such as Service Contracts between Users. Below are the details:

a. Service Contracts- Client and freelancer share a direct contractual relationship in which they explicitly enter to accomplish set objectives. Both parties have complete discretion to whether enter into a contract or not. Both parties are free to decide on the terms of the service contract. Both parties acknowledge and agree that Fixnhour is not a party to any contract. A mutually agreed service contract between the users will only involve two parties, service seeker (client) and service provider (freelancer or agency/agency member). Fixnhour, under any circumstance, does not establish a service relationship with any freelancer or joint venture with the client. A client and freelancer may come into an agreement that they think suitable, but the agreements should not conflict with, narrow, or expand our Terms of Service. Apart from such agreements, the client and freelancer in a Service Contract can, if they prefer, agree to the Optional Service Contract Terms. The Optional Service Contract Terms are offered as a sample only. These may not be suitable for all the contracts or authorities. The consequences of using our Optional Service Contract Terms are the responsibility of the users only. We are not responsible for any compliance required by local demands. Remember that the Optional Service Contract Terms do not establish any legal advice, build an attorney-client relationship, or create advertising or a solicitation of any kind. All the situations are extremely fact-specific, and the needs may vary for every situation. Therefore, it is suggested that both the freelancer and client take legal advice from a licensed attorney in the related jurisdictions. We disclaim all the responsibilities related to actions or blunders based on the Optional Service Contract Terms.

b. Disputes Among Users: In case any disputes arise between a client and freelancer, you have to stand with the dispute procedure that is mentioned in the Escrow Instructions applicable to your specific Service Contract. If your dispute is not solved by the dispute process, you may follow the dispute in an independent manner. Please note that we are not responsible to offer you any assistance in dispute, apart from what is mentioned in the Escrow Instructions. If any freelancer or client plans to bring us an order from the arbitrator or court that might direct us, our Escrow, or our Affiliates to take or avoid taking any action related to an Escrow Account, he/she will (a) provide us a minimum of five business days before the notice of the hearing; (b) add any such order a provision that, as a requirement to obligation impacting us or our Escrow, we will be paid in full for any amounts which we would otherwise be allowed; and (c) pay for the reasonable value of the services to be rendered pursuant to such order.

c. Confidentiality: When it comes to confidential information, both freelancers and clients may agree to the suitable terms, including the ones set in Optional Service Contract Terms. Our Confidentiality section applies to all the users who do not articulate any distinct agreement. If a user shares his Confidential Information with the other user, it is the responsibility of the recipient to keep that information secret with the same level of care as used to protect its Confidential Information. In no case, the recipient can keep any lesser care. If a user requests the other user who has received the Confidential Information to delete or return that information, its copies stored on-premises, systems, or any other equipment, the recipient will have to delete or return it. The request should be done in a written format.

d. Third-Party Beneficiaries: All the users who have come into our Service Contracts, shared or received any Confidential Information are third-party beneficiaries of this agreement.

4. Worker Classification and Payroll

f. Verification-

In this section, you will find the things that you agree on regarding whether a freelancer is our employee or an independent entity, and your use of our Payroll.

a. Worker Classification

Our agreement does not intend to build a partnership, joint venture, franchisor or franchisee, or any employee-employer relationship between us and the user.

The selection of any freelancer for a project is completely the responsibility of the client. The client is also responsible for the decisions he/she makes for selecting the freelancer as an independent contractor or employee and interacts with them accordingly. We will not have any involvement in the worker classification as between client and freelancer. All the users of our service agree that we are not responsible for any liability that arises from or related to the classification of a freelancer for a project.

b. Our Payroll Services

If any client takes services from a freelancer on our platform, he/she agrees to enrol in our Payroll under terms and conditions of the employment relationship. In such cases, the client will interact with our third-party Staffing Vendors, such as an Agency via our platform. The Staffing Vendor will find freelancer for the clients, based on terms mentioned on our site and otherwise agreed mutually by the Staffing Vendor and client and/or freelancer. This will remain subjective to our Payroll Agreement. It is to be noted that the Staffing Vendors will be the employer of freelancer, and not us, under any circumstances.

All the freelancers who interact with Staffing Vendors and/or Client, acknowledge and agree that we will not have any involvement or control over the terms and conditions of such employment relationships. We will not determine or influence such relationships, such as finding the employee, pay rate, work hours, employment dates, and working conditions.

Freelancers who get involved in employment relationships with Client or Agency will not have a contract on our platform. The sole purpose of our platform is to allow freelancers to interact with the Staffing Vendors and Clients.

5. Our Fees

In this section, we have described our fee structure, i.e. how much do you pay to us for providing this platform and services to you.

a. Service Fees for Freelancers

All the freelancers pay us a Service Fee for using our platform. We charge a nominal fee from freelancers, based on Fee and ACH Authorization Agreement, for making use of our platform for communication, invoicing, reporting, dispute resolution and payment services.

When a freelancer is paid by the client for a project or when the payment is released otherwise as needed by the appropriate Escrow Instructions, our Escrow will pay the freelancer full amount that is paid or released by the client. We will then charge the Service Fee which will be subtracted or deducted from the Freelancer Escrow Account.

Freelancers on our platform hereby agree and authorize our Escrow to debit the Service Fee from the Freelancer Escrow Account and pay us on the behalf of freelancer.

In case a Freelancer opts to withdraw his money in any other currency than USD, he may also be charged a foreign currency conversion charge. The foreign currency conversion charges may vary from rates that are effective on the payment date. Freelancers may also gain a better rate from their banks or financial institutions.

b. Membership Fees and Connects

We charge a membership fee from freelancers if they choose a paid membership or buy Connects. We provide several levels of participation and rights on our platform. Freelancers can choose to subscribe to these by making the required payment or subscription fee and by buying the Connects as mentioned in and subject to the Freelancer Membership Agreement.

c. Disbursement Fees

We may charge Freelancers Disbursement Fee to remit the payments to their preferred payment option. The Disbursement Fee is charged considering the costs related to incurring and administrating the disbursements, through the method selected by the freelancer. The fee may vary based on the disbursement method.

You can find the details about Disbursement Fee for various disbursement methods in the Fees and Schedules section on our site, which is revised regularly.

Additionally, we may also charge activation, maintenance, and account fees for the disbursement method used by the freelancer.

d. Client Fees

We charge our clients some fee for processing the payment and administration associated with the fees that are paid to the freelancers on our platform, as mentioned in the Fee and ACH Authorization Agreement. If clients choose any premium membership plans, they may need to pay additional for it, as mentioned in the Fee and ACH Authorization Agreement.

e. VAT and Other Taxes

As per the need by the applicable laws, we may collect taxes and levies, without limitation, withholding income tax or VAT/GST in the authority of the freelancer. In these cases, we may collect some additional fee (Taxes) owed to us under the Terms of Service.

f. No Fee for Introducing or Finding Projects

We do not help clients to find freelancers and do not help freelancers to find projects. We only make our platform and services available so that freelancers can find relevant projects that may of their interest. Therefore, we do not charge any fee from the freelancers whenever they find a client or a project.

Moreover, we do not charge any fee if our users choose to post their feedback publicly, including Composite Information.

6. Payment Terms and Escrow Services

In this section, we have mentioned things about the agreement to pay Freelancer Service Fees on Service Contracts, and the methodology of our Escrow Services. We have also discussed the possible things that can happen if a Client denies payment and related topics.

6.1 Escrow Services

To manage and control the payment that is delivered, hold, or received by Users for a project, we use our Escrow. The Escrow is also used to pay the required fees to us. Our Escrow Services are business-oriented, and all the Users agree to make use of these services only for the business, and not for consumer, personal, family, or household purposes.

6.1.1 Payment Agreements and Escrow Instructions

As per the Agreement and applicable Escrow Instructions, our Escrow will use and release the funds that have been deposited in the Escrow account. It is to be noted that our Escrow works as an Internet escrow agent and delivers the Escrow services as mentioned in the agreement and Escrow Instructions.

In case our Escrow is instructed to make or release the funds from your Escrow account, it will perform the action as per the instruction, in accordance with the Agreement and applicable Escrow Instructions. Additionally, the funds may be released from an Escrow Account on the basis of applicable law.

Fixed-Price Projects:

For the projects that have been agreed upon for fixed-price compensation, the Users agree that our Escrow will go with the Fixed-Price Escrow Instructions.

Hourly Projects, Bonus Payments, or Expense Payments:

The Escrow Instructions include the Hourly, Bonus and Expense Payment Agreement which is applicable when the Users opt for hourly projects or in case the Client pays bonus or expense payments.

Our Payroll Engagements:

In case the Users make use of our Payroll for a project, then the Staffing Provider will directly pay the Staffing Employee. The Staffing Provider will invoice the Client via our website, on the basis of applicable Escrow Instructions.

Please note that we may not allow the Clients to dispute hours as reported by the Staffing Employee. Also, there would not be any waiting time for the disbursement of funds to the Staffing Employee.

6.1.2 Escrow Accounts

On the basis of this agreement and required Escrow Instructions, our Escrow uses and releases funds that get deposited in an Escrow account. As per your requirement and applicable Escrow Instructions, our Escrow will uphold and manage the following types of Escrow Accounts:

• Client Escrow Account: When the Users come into a Service Contract and the Client processes the payment for a Project for the first time, our Escrow will create and manage a Client Escrow Account. This account will be used for the Client to hold payment for a Project, receive payment, and send the payment to us for administration and payment processing.
• Freelancer Escrow Account: When the Users come into a Service Contract and the Freelancer receives the payment for a Project for the first time, our Escrow will create and manage a Freelancer Escrow Account. This account will be used for the Freelancer to get paid for a Project, withdraw the payments, send refunds to clients, and pay us the Service Fees or any other fees.
• Fixed-Price Escrow Account: Our Escrow creates and manages a Fixed-Price Escrow Account when the Users come into a Fixed-Price Contract. This account is used to receive, hold, and release payments depending on the Fixed-Price Escrow Instructions, subject to the related contract.

It is to be noted that you agree and authorize our Escrow to work as an escrow agent for the Escrow Accounts, as well as the payment that is holding or received for the Projects, subject to the Terms of Service and applicable Escrow Instructions. We allow both the Freelancers and the Clients to access their Escrow account through our website.

6.1.3 Freelancer Appointment of Escrow and Subsidiaries as Agent

In case a Freelancer asks for the payment associated with an Hourly Contract or if he requests the payment release from a Fixed-Price Escrow Account, the Escrow and the subsidiaries will be appointed as an agent on your behalf to receive the payment, which will be then credited to the Freelancer’s Escrow Account.

Please note that our Escrow is the agent of Freelancers. Hence, the Freelancers need to discharge and credit the Client for all payments, and our Escrow obtains the payment from the Client on the behalf of the Freelancer.

6.1.4 Title to Funds

Our platform, our Escrow and our Affiliates are not banks. It is to be noted that all the funds in Escrow Account are deposited and managed by our Escrow at a bank. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has insured this bank and is permitted to obtain, hold, and send escrow funds on the basis of applicable laws and regulations.

We keep our escrow trust account separate from our operating accounts and the accounts of our Affiliates. The funds deposited in the escrow trust account are not made available to the creditors, in any case. Our Escrow has only legal title to, and do not take any equitable interest, in the escrow trust account and the funds available in the account.

6.1.5 No Interest

We do not provide you with any interest or any other earnings on the funds available in your Escrow Account. Our Escrow or Affiliates are allowed to charge you or deduct some fees for the services provided to you.

6.1.6 Escrow Agent Duties

We perform all the duties that have been mentioned in the Agreement, Escrow Instructions, and the Terms of Service. We would not perform and imply any other duties apart from that. Please note that we will not take care of any duty or communication taking place between the Client and Freelancer if that is not included in our Agreement, Terms of Service, and Instructions. We will not be answerable for the activities or any written notice or requests that do not abide by our Agreement. We will not be accepting any such requests to investigate or enquire the content, accuracy or validity of such activities. It is not part of our duty.

It is not our duty to ask the Clients for payments or funds that may be pending from their Escrow Account. To fulfil the duties mentioned in the Agreement, we may use any of our powers directly or via the agents or attorneys. We may also take help from counsellors, accountants, and other such persons. If any third-party demands or claims any other duties that conflict with our Agreement, we will refrain from acting on such demands. Our only duty will be to keep the funds and properties of our users safe in the Escrow Account until we receive the written requests by the Client or the Freelancer.

6.1.7 Escrow Agent Right

For the issues between the Client and the Freelancer associated with the Escrow account, legal proceedings, and other issues related to Escrow Account, we have the right to investigate and resolve the issues. Please note that such issues are resolved in our sole discretion, but we are not obliged to do it. The provisions mentioned in our Agreement and the Escrow Instructions will not limit our legal and equitable rights.

If we come into a merger, get acquired or converted or consolidated by any corporation or association, all our escrow business may be transferred. This may succeed to all the rights and obligations of Fixnhour Escrow as escrow holder and escrow agent under this Agreement and the applicable Escrow Instructions without a further act to the extent permitted by applicable law.

6.2 Client Payments on Service Contracts

If a Freelancer is working for Hourly Contracts, he will need to invoice the Clients on our platform on a weekly basis. On the other hand, the Clients will pay these invoices constantly in accordance with the Hourly Escrow Instructions.

Whenever a Client opts for the Fixed-Price Contracts, he will become obligated to send the payment to our escrow as soon as the Fixed-Price Contract is offered.

For the Hourly Contracts and Fixed-Price Contracts, the Client agrees that the failure to payment requests or dispute in the Hourly Invoice is an authorization and instruction to release the funds. It has been explained in detail in the applicable Escrow Instructions.

If the Client approves that the Freelancer Fee for a Fixed-Price Contract should be paid, then our platform, Escrow or the Affiliates will be automatically authorized to charge Freelancer Fees from Client’s Payment Method. For the Hourly Contracts, if the Client authorizes an Hourly Invoice, then our platform, Escrow or Affiliates will be instructed automatically to charge Freelancer Fees from Client’s Payment Method.

6.3 Disbursements to Freelancers

On the basis of the relevant Escrow Instructions, our Escrow provides payable and available disbursements to the Freelancers on their request. We allow Freelancers to request the disbursements of available funds any time on a one-time basis. They can also set up an automatic schedule for disbursement. If a Freelancer does not ask for the disbursement for the available funds within 90 days following the release of Freelancer Fees, we will disburse the funds automatically to the Freelancer. Please note that the disbursement amount should not be lesser than the Minimum Threshold to be disbursed automatically. If the disbursement amount is less than the Minimum Threshold, we will pause the automatic disbursement until the fund exceeds the Minimum Threshold. Alternatively, the Freelancer can request the disbursement if he wants the available funds without exceeding the Minimum Threshold.

We release the Freelancer Fees for Hourly Contracts once the dispute period and five-day security period get expired. For Fixed-Price Contracts, we release the Freelancer Fees once the five-day security period gets expired. Please note that the security period starts once the Client authorizes that the Freelancer has submitted the work.

In case we find that you are violating our Terms of Service or conditions, such as trying to fraud or any other illegal acts on or through our platform, our Escrow may not process the disbursement for Freelancer Fees and may also take suitable actions against the users in accordance with the applicable law.

Our Escrow may also refuse to release the disbursement for Freelancer Fees if:

(i) we need any additional information, like address, date of birth, or identification proof issued by government, or tax information;

(ii) we get a reason to think that the Freelancer Fees may be subject to chargeback or dispute;

(iii) we find fraud;

(iv) we think that there are reasons for insecurity in terms of performance; or

(v) we believe it is essentially related to any investigation or needed by the applicable law.

Following the investigation, if we find that the disbursement of the Freelancer Fees was held unnecessarily, our Escrow will no longer hold the Freelancer Fees and release it as soon as possible.

Furthermore, we hold the right to ask you for reimbursement and you will have to reimburse us if you do not stand with our Terms of Service or Escrow Instructions. This can happen, in case we:

(i) find fraud or illegal activities related to your payment, withdrawal or Project;

(ii) find duplicate or wrong transactions;

(iii) obtain any chargeback from your Payment Method or the one used by your Client.

You acknowledge and agree that we hold the right to receive such reimbursement through our Escrow by enabling it to charge the applicable Escrow Account or other accounts on our platform. In case we are not able to receive such reimbursement, we have the right to block your access to our platform or close your account temporarily or permanently.

6.4 Non-Payment

In case a Client does not pay the Freelancer Fees or any other due funds in accordance with the Terms of Service, Agreement for payment terms, we will take necessary actions as mentioned in this section, apart from the additional remedies as per the applicable law or written agreement.

The appropriate actions may be taken if:

(i)Client fails to pay the due Freelancer Fees;

(ii) Client does not pay the due balance within 30 days of failure in paying via the credit or debit card;

(iii) Client does not pay the issued invoice within the agreed duration or within 30 days;

(iv) Client requests a chargeback from the bank or financial institution which results in the reverse of the funds to the Client;

(v) Client acts or fails to act resulting in a negative balance on the Client’s account.

If a Client is found in fault, then we may block his/her access to our platform and services or close the account temporarily or permanently. The Client will then may not be able to use our platform for payment processing, enter into Service Contracts, or receive any further Freelancer Services. We will also ask for the outstanding amount, as well as interest on that amount, attorney fees, and other costs, as applicable by law.

In accordance with the applicable law, we, our Affiliates, or our Escrow may charge the Client from the amount that is owed to the Payment Method on file on Client Account; funds received from or held by our platform, Escrow or the Affiliates. We may also coordinate with law enforcement authorities or agencies for investigation and prosecution.

6.5 No Return of Funds

As mentioned in the applicable Escrow Instructions, the Client will be charged for the Freelancer Fees by our platform, Affiliates, or our Escrow. These charges will remain non-refundable, apart from the exceptions as per the applicable law. The Client agrees and acknowledges that he will not request (for any reason) his bank or other financial institutions or Payment Method provider for a chargeback on the Freelancer Fees or any other funds charged related to the Terms of Service (to the extent permitted by applicable law). If a Client goes for the chargeback, it will be a breach of our Terms of Service. In cases of breaching the Terms of Service, our platform, Escrow, or Affiliates may take appropriate action against the Client.

6.6 Payment Methods

For using the services on our platform, the Client will need to share the account details for at least one valid Payment Method.

Hereby, the Client approves our platform, Escrow, and our Affiliates to apply relevant banking authorizations on the banking details shared by the Client. These authorizations are used to save the banking, credit card, or other financial information as a Payment Method for the Client. These details will follow our Privacy Policy. The banking and credit card details will also be used for the Freelancer Fees and other amounts applicable under our Terms of Service. As allowed by applicable law and Privacy Policy, we may use your Payment Methods to process transactions for third-party vendors and service providers. We may also maintain your Payment Method information.

If a Client is sharing Payment Method information via our platform and processing payments using the Payment Method, then the Client acknowledges and agrees that:

(i) Client is legally authorized to share such information;

(ii) Client has legal approval for making the payments using Payment Method;

(iii)If the Client belongs to the company or person who owns the Payment Method, then the Client has approval from that company or person to make use of the Payment Method for transactions on our platform;

(iv) Use of such Payment Methods by Client does not interrupt the terms and conditions. In order to process a transaction successfully, the Client warrants that there is a sufficient amount available for the completion of the transaction via the chosen Payment Method.

If a transaction on our platform does not get completed due to the limitations by the bank, financial institution or applicable law, we will not be accountable for such transactions. In addition, we will not be liable for the transaction failing because of the failure at the bank’s side or the financial institution failing to credit or debit to or from the associated account. We will work along with the users and put our efforts to resolve issues related to such transactions, in accordance with the Agreement and applicable Escrow Instructions.

6.7 US Dollars and Foreign Currency Conversion

Our platform and the services offered on it run in US Dollars. If the Payment Method of a Client or Freelancer is denominated in any other currency and needs currency conversion to US Dollars for any transaction, our platform, Escrow, or our Affiliates show the foreign currency conversion rates. Please note that the rates of foreign currencies keep on varying and are displayed on our platform on the basis of market conditions. The wholesale currency conversion rates may be different from the foreign currency conversion rates shown on our platform. If a User approves the charge, debit, or credit of the funds via Payment Method in a preferred foreign currency based on conversion rates shown on our platform, it will be the complete responsibility of the User.

In case our platform, Escrow, or Affiliates does not support the foreign currency requested by the user for conversion to US Dollars, then such payments will be debited, credited, or charged in US Dollars directly, and the Payment Method provider will do the conversion of payment at the applicable currency conversion rate. The Payment Method provider used by the User may also charge fees even if there is no conversion of currency. The foreign currency conversion rate shown on our platform and being used by the Client or Freelancer is at their own risk. We, our Escrow, or Affiliates are not responsible for any issues or fluctuations that may happen while billing or crediting the payment to and from the Escrow Account.

7. Non-Circumvention

In this section, we have mentioned our policies about making and receiving payment only via our platform for two years from the time you first interact with a Freelancer or Client on our platform. In other cases, users will be charged an Opt-Out-Fee, as explained below.

7.1 Making Payments via Our Platform

In the section, we have explained that we charge a nominal amount in the form of compensation through the Service Fee for providing you with the platform and our services. We charge Service Fee only when a payment is made or received via our platform. Hence, you acknowledge and agree that our site will be the only method for you to make, ask, or receive all the payments for work for the next two years from the time you identify or are identified by any third party. This two-year period is called the Non-Circumvention Period. The Non-Circumvention Period is not applicable for the users or businesses if they do not identify or are not identified by any other party through our platform. To clear the doubt, the Non-Circumvention Period applies if they make use of our platform as an employee, agent, or representative of business when working with respect to the other users, business, or their representatives. It is not applicable if you and another user have collaborated before interacting on our platform.

You cannot circumvent the Payment Methods provided by our platform unless you are paying the Opt-Out Fee. You agree that you will not:

• Ask parties or submit proposals outside our platform to contract, hire, work with or pay if you have identified them on our platform.

• Receive proposals or ask parties to contract, invoice or accept payment outside our platform if you have identified them through our platform.

• Invoice or request an invoice with amount lesser than the agreed amount.

• Refer a Freelancer or Client who has been identified on our platform to any other user or business who is not a part of our platform to make or receive payments outside our site.

If someone asks you to make or receive payments outside our platform or violate Section 7.1, you agree that you will report that to us on an immediate basis. If you find some other users violating our Section 7.1, please notify us by submitting a confidential report to us.

If you do not accept any updates to our Terms of Service and refuse to comply with any conditions of using our platform, you will be opting out of using our site and therefore pay an Opt-Out Fee to continue to work with whatever conditions you agree on with the other users on our site.

7.2 Opting Out

If you want to opt-out of the compulsions mentioned in Section 7.1 related to any Client-Freelancer relationship, this can be done by paying us an Opt-Out Fee for each such relationship.

We calculate the Opt-Out Fee as mentioned below:

• For the computed amount, interest at the rate of 18% per annum or the maximum rate allowed by the law (whichever is less). This is charged from the date a Client pays the Freelancer till the payment date of Opt-Out Fee;
• The greater of
  a) $3,500; or b) 25% of the expected annual salary or wages for a year if the Client and Freelancer agree for direct employment; or c) the entire Service Fees that are charged by us for the Non-Circumvention Period, calculated based on the annual amount paid by the Client to Freelancer during the recent 8-week period; d) if we are unable to determine the amount in (b) and (c) because of insufficient data or any uncertainty, then the Opt-Out Fee will be $3,500; or e) if we determine the amount in (b) and (c), then the calculation will be based on that amount if it is more than $3,500.

You can ask for detailed instructions by sending a direct email to us.

If you are found to be violating the Section 7, we or our Affiliates may (a) send you an invoice for the Opt-Out Fee along with interest, or charge you an Opt-Out Fee along with interest for your Payment Method. You will have to pay the invoice within 30 days of receiving it; (b) block your access to our services and close your account temporarily or permanently; (c) invoice and charge you for the expenses we bear for looking into and investigating such violations.

8. Records of Compliance

In this section, we have mentioned the things that you agree on for making and keeping the necessary records.

• All the Users will keep and maintain the records related to the payment requirements, compliance with tax and employment laws, and other respective obligations under this Agreement;
• All the Users will share the copies of their records with us if requested. We may not supervise or monitor the compliance of all the users with this Agreement, the Terms of Service, or a Service Contract. It is the sole responsibility of the Users to create, keep, and back up their business records of any period.

9. Warranty Disclaimer

In this section, we have mentioned the things that you agree on and understand that our site or certain services on our site may not work perfectly or remain available always, as explained below.

You agree that you will not remain dependable on our platform, the services, the information on our platform, or the continuance of the platform. We are making available our site and its services on an “as is” and “as available” basis.

We do not make any warranties related to the platform, our services, or any other activities. We disclaim all the conditions, representations, and warranties, like warranties of accuracy, merchantability, to the maximum extent allowed by applicable law.

Some of the limitations mentioned above may not apply to you as some authorities may not permit for all the limitations on warranties.

10. Limitation of Liability

In this section, we have mentioned your agreement that we will not be responsible for any damages related to your use of our platform and services. We are not liable, and if any damages are caused because of your use of our platform or related to the Terms of Service, including, but not limited to:

• Suspensions or delays in our platform or services;

• If you are unable to make use of our platform or services;

• Viruses or any other malicious software infecting you by using or linking to our platform or services;

• Bugs, errors, or any other issues arising in our platform and services;

• Damage caused to your device or hardware by using our platform and services;

• Suspension of your Account;

• Your dependency on the profiles, ratings, suggestions, feedback, job postings, and other such things made available to you via our platform;

• Your necessity to make updates to content or behaviour or if you are unable to do business because of changes in our Terms of Service.

Furthermore, we, our Affiliates, Licensors, or our third-party service providers will not be responsible for any direct or indirect, incidental, special, or punitive damages, such as litigation costs, loss of data, business opportunities, etc.

In case we, our Affiliates, or our third-party service providers are found liable for any claim related to this agreement or other Terms of Service, the liability will not be more than the lesser of:

(i) $2,500;

(ii) any funds held by us related to service contracts on which you were involved as a Client or Freelancer during the six-month period before the date of the claim.

Please note that these limitations are applicable for all the liabilities resulting from any actions related to our Agreement or Terms of Service. Some authorities and states may not permit all the limitations, therefore, to some extent, some or all of the exclusions may not be applicable.

11. Release

In this section, we have explained your agreement that you will not hold us responsible for the clash or disputes you may have with other users on our platform.

If there is any dispute between you and any other user on our platform, whether it is related to law or equity, we, our Affiliates, our third-party service providers, agents, joint ventures, and employees will not be responsible for this. The disputes may arise because of the performance, functions, quality of work offered by the Freelancer to a Client, fund requests, etc. We have discussed the procedures for handling some of the disputes in our Escrow Instructions.

12. Indemnification

In this section, we have detailed that you agree to pay for the costs or losses caused to us because of a claim against us related to your use of our platform and its services.

You agree to indemnify and defend us, our Affiliates, and related directors, officers, employees, agents, and representatives for the Indemnified Claims and Indemnified Liabilities arising because of:

• Your use of our platform and services;

• The Service Contracts agreed upon by you, such as consideration of our platform as an employer of Freelancer;

• Your failure or inability to remain compliant with our Terms of Service;

• Your failure or inability to remain compliant with applicable law;

• Your negligence, misbehaviour, or fraud;

• Violating our privacy policies, unfair competition, or defamation of our Intellectual Property Rights.

The meaning of Indemnified Claim in this section is all the damages, claims, costs, liabilities, losses, and expenses related to the claims, demands, or reports brought by you or a third party against an Indemnified Party.

The meaning of Indemnified Liability here is all the claims, costs, damaged, losses, and expenses related to the claims, demands, or proceedings brought by an Indemnified Party against you or a third party.

13. Agreement Term and Termination

In this section, we have mentioned the things related to the duration for which your agreement with us will last, how you or we can bring this agreement to an end, when you or we can end the agreement, and the possible things that can happen if you or we bring the agreement to an end.

13.1 Termination

The Agreement can be terminated at any time either by you or us, only if both you and we agree with the things in writing. There is no need for further explanation to terminate the Agreement. The termination of Agreement will also terminate the other Terms of Service unless it is mentioned otherwise. Once your Agreement with us is properly terminated, you will no longer be able to use our services and access your Account.

Please note that terminating the Agreement does not bring an end or impact the Service Contract or Project between a Client and Freelancer. In case you are choosing to end the Agreement while having one or more open Projects, you agree that:

• you will ask us for closing the open Projects;

• until all the open Projects are closed on our platform, you will still be bound by our Agreement and other Terms of Service

• we will not stop any services that are essential for the completion of an open Project or a transaction associated with open Project;

• you will have to clear all the pending or unpaid amounts as of the date of termination or as of the closure of open Service Contracts, whichever is later.

We may temporarily or permanently block your access to our platform and not provide you with any of our services, if:

• you breach our terms and conditions or any other Terms of Service;

• you provide us wrong or misleading information;

• we believe that your work or actions may cause legal issues to us, our Affiliates, or Users.

If we close your Account temporarily or permanently, you may not use our platform from a different or same Account or try to register again with a new Account, without our permission.

In case we find that you are trying to use our services with a new or different Account, we hold the right to reclaim the funds that are available in that Account. We may also use your Payment Method to clear your outstanding dues, to the extent allowed by applicable law.

If we close your Account temporarily or permanently, we have the right, as permitted by law, to:

• inform other Users about the closure of your Account if they have entered into a Service Contract with you;

• share with those Users about why we have closed your Account.

13.2 Account Data on Closure

You will not be able to access your data, messages, files or any other things on our platform once we have closed your Account. This means that closure of your Account may also get your content deleted from your Account. We may keep some or all of your Account information, as allowed or required by law.

13.3 Survival

Following the termination of Agreement, the terms of the Agreement and other Terms of Service related to the performance of the User, will continue to survive and remain effective. For instance, some of the provisions may need arbitration, audits, IP protection, indemnification, reimbursement, etc. Such provisions will anticipate performance even after the termination of Agreement.

Hence, please note that if your Agreement is terminated, it does not mean that you or we are released from the obligations that have occurred before the termination of the Agreement.

14. Disputes Between You and Our Platform

In this section, we have mentioned your agreement with us about the possible disputes that may arise between you and us, how to solve those disputes, etc.

14.1 Dispute Process, Arbitration, and Scope

For all the disputes, controversies, or claims arising between you and us or our Affiliates, we try our best to resolve them as soon as we can and in a cost-effective manner. We and our Affiliates will resolve your disputes related to the Agreement, other Terms of Service, your relationship with us and our services, on the basis of the section also referred to as Arbitration Provision.

All the disputes, claims, or controversies related to the Agreement, Service Contract, the Terms of Service, escrow payments and instructions, fall under this Arbitration Provision. The disputes may arise because of, but not limited to, trade secrets, unfair competition, classification, due payments from us or our Affiliates, termination, overtime, expense reimbursement, as well as the claims mentioned under the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Rehabilitation Act, Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1871, Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Americans With Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Family Medical Leave Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Affordable Care Act, Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act, Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, Older Workers Benefits Protection Act of 1990, Occupational Safety and Health Act, Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, False Claims Act, Employee Retirement Income Security Act (apart from the claims for benefits sponsored by the organization and funded by insurance or falling under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974).

Please note that this Agreement does not include the disputes arising between the parties which are not subject to the pre-dispute arbitration agreement as offered by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Public Law 111-203) or Act of Congress or lawful, enforceable Executive Order.

14.2 Choice of Law

We govern and construe the Terms of Service and the Claims on the basis of the state laws of Delaware, without conflicting with other law provisions, apart from the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). However, if a Freelancer is from the United States, the Claims made by him will be governed by the law of the state in which he lives. Please note that the Arbitration Provision is governed under the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq.).

14.3 Informal Dispute Resolution

Whenever a Claim arises, both you and we agree that we will first inform each other about that claim, rather than directly taking any further action or demanding arbitration. For Claims at your end, you agree to inform us about it via email or at Attn: Address. We will file your claim and send you a Notice about it via email. We can then go for informal voluntary resolution of that Claim. The Notice will have the required account information, short description about the Claim, along with the contact details. These details will be required on the Notice so that you or we can resolve and evaluate the Claim in an informal manner. If you or we do not resolve the Claim informally within 60 days of receiving the Notice, the Claim can be taken ahead for further action.

14.4 Binding Arbitration and Class Action/Jury Trial Waiver

If a Claim is not resolved within 60 days of receiving the Notice, we, our Affiliates, and you agree to evaluate and resolve the Claim using binding arbitration before an arbitrator from JAMS, rather than going to a court or jury.

Please note that this Arbitration Provision is not applicable to the Users residing outside of the US and its territories.

14.4.1 Scope of Arbitration Agreement and Conduct of Arbitration

All the Claims arising on our platform fall under this Arbitration Provision. The Claims falling under this Arbitration Agreement may include the disputes, claims, and controversies related to the Agreement, Terms of Service, and our Payroll Agreement. The aim of this Arbitration Provision is to resolve the disputes arising between you and us without going to a court or jury. In case the arbitrator from JAMS does not handle the arbitration, due to any reason, you or we may go to a court of jurisdiction with authority over the location where the arbitration should be conducted for appointment of a neutral arbitrator.

The arbitration generally takes place in Santa Clara County, California, if not mentioned otherwise, on the basis of the effective JAMS Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures’ Optional Expedited Arbitration Procedures.

The JAMS Consumer Arbitration Minimum Standards will also be applicable for the arbitration arising due to the violation of a consumer protection statute. These arbitrations will take place in the same state, within 25 miles of the residence of the User.

If a Freelancer arises a Claim related to employment or worker classification disputes, such Claims will also take place in the same state, within 25 miles of the residence of the Freelancer, on the basis of the effective JAMS Employment Arbitration Rules and Procedures.

You can find the details about applicable JAMS arbitration rules at www.jamsadr.com or by simply searching for JAMS Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures or JAMS Consumer Arbitration Minimum Standards.

The arbitrators will be the one to resolve the disputes on the basis of applicable specific JAMS rules. The parties will need to be present at the arbitration either by video calls and/or telephone, instead of meeting personally.

Both you and we agree that the applicable JAMS rules will be followed strictly related to the arbitration fees. For the arbitrations falling under the JAMS Employment Arbitration Rules and Procedures, the Freelancers will need to pay JAMS arbitration fees. However, this fee will not be more than the filing or initial appearance fees charged for court actions in the jurisdiction. If the JAMS arbitration fee is higher than the filing or initial appearance fees, we will pay the difference amount.

For the arbitrations falling under the effective JAMS Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures’ Optional Expedited Arbitration Procedures, if you make a claim under a consumer protection statute, you will need to pay JAMS arbitration fees. This fee will not be higher than the filing or initial appearance fees depending on the court actions in the jurisdiction or $250, whichever is less. We will pay the difference amount if the JAMS arbitration fee is higher than filing or initial appearance fees or $250. The arbitrator will have to adhere to the applicable laws and reward the applicable remedies the way things would have happened in court.

Please note that this Arbitration Provision is not applicable to the litigation between you and us which are due in arbitration, or state or federal court. If a matter is pending in the arbitration process falling under this Section, there will not be any applicable amendments, except for all the concerned parties under that arbitration gives written consent. Also, this Arbitration Provision will not be applicable to the unemployment insurance benefits, workers compensation, or state disability insurance.

If you want to file a claim, make a report, or charge with a government agency, you can do so without any limitation by this Arbitration Provision. The government agency to whom you have reported are allowed to investigate, without any restriction by this Arbitration Provision. Furthermore, this Arbitration Provision does not restrict any federal administrative agencies from managing claims and awarding the related claims. When taking any claims in arbitration, no party is limited to satisfy the conditions associated with administrative remedies under applicable law. According to the Section of the National Labor Relations Act, we will not react against you for any claims with an administrative agency.

14.4.2 Interpretation and Enforcement of Arbitration Provision

All the agreements related to the formal resolution of Claims have been included in this Arbitration Provision. The arbitrator will have the right to decide on the disputes related to the enforcement, interpretation, or application of Arbitration Provision, apart from the ones mentioned in this Arbitration Provision. The arbitrator will be the person responsible to decide such matters, rather than a court. Hence, the users agree that only the arbitrator will make decisions about the agreements related to arbitration, claims in the Arbitration Provision, as well as the other Terms of Service.

In case some part of the Arbitration Provision remains unenforceable, the remaining part of the Arbitration will still be enforceable. In an event when some part of the Class Action Waiver in subsection C of this Arbitration Provision remains unenforceable, we and you agree that the Arbitration Provision will continue to be enforceable to the maximum extent, as allowed by the law.

14.4.3 Class and Collective Waiver

Please note that the private attorney general representative actions that fall under the California Labor Code will not be arbitrable within the Arbitration Provision. Hence, such actions may have control by the court of law. Your ability to take part in a class or collective actions is still impacted by the Arbitration Provision.

For all the disputes that are brought to arbitration, both we and you agree that such disputes will be brought only on an individual basis, rather than based on a class or behalf of others. No users will have the right or authority to bring any dispute as a class or collective action. The disputes related to enforceability, scope, revocability or validity, that do not abide by the provision of this Agreement or the JAMS rules may be taken to a civil court of competent jurisdiction for the resolution.

The class or collective action will be sued to a civil court of competent jurisdiction, if

(i) the disputes are reported as a class or collective action,

(ii) final judicial has been determined that some part or all of the Class Action Waiver cannot be enforced.

However, the remaining part of the Class Action Waiver will remain enforceable in arbitration if that can be enforced. Because of filing or taking part in a class or collective action in the forums, you will not be retaliated. However, under the Federal Arbitration Act, we may go for legal enforcement of the Arbitration Provision and ask to dismiss such classes, claims or collective actions.

14.4.4 Right to Opt-Out of the Arbitration Provision

If you want to opt-out of the Arbitration Provision mentioned in this section, you will need to notify us within 30 days of registering on our platform. You can write an email to us, which should include your username, name, address, contact number, email address, along with the statement that you want to opt-out of this Arbitration Provision. Please note that if you opt-out this Arbitration Provision, there will be no effect on other terms of the agreement.

14.4.5 Enforcement of this Arbitration Provision

This Arbitration Provision is a complete agreement for resolving the disputes and takes over all the previous agreements related to the arbitration of disputes. In case, some part of this Arbitration Provision cannot be enforced, the remaining part of the Arbitration Provision will continue to be enforceable. If some part of the Class Action Waiver in this section remains unenforceable, the remaining part of the Arbitration Provision will remain enforceable to the maximum intent, as allowed by law.

15. General

In this section, we have mentioned some of the additional terms of the agreement, such as how the agreement becomes applicable, locations from where you should not access our website, etc.

15.1 Entire Agreement

Everything mentioned in the entire Agreement is aimed to establish understanding and agreement between you and Fixnhour related to all the subjects, discussions, warranties, and other communications that may take place between us. We have created the Agreement for you to make the right decisions, hence read all the terms of service carefully and make choices accordingly.

15.2 Modifications

We will not modify the Terms of Service on our platform unless we get things in written and signed by our duly authorized representative. If we fail to take action against a breach by your other users, it does not mean we will not act against similar breaches. It is not a guarantee that we will take action against all the breaches against our User Agreement.

15.3 Assignability

You are not allowed to assign our Terms of Service unless you have a written and signed permission by us. If you try to assign or transfer this section, it will be void and null. We may assign the Agreement and other Terms of Service without any consent of the users. On the basis of prior limitations, our Terms of Service are binding upon and will strengthen for the benefit of the successors, heir, and allowed assigns of the parties.

15.4 Severability

In case some provision of this Agreement or other Terms of Service becomes invalid, unenforceable or illegal, that provision will no longer remain effective to the extent to which it is invalid, unenforceable, or illegal. It will also be modified to make things effective on the basis of applicable and valid law.

If any provision becomes invalid, unenforceable or illegal in a specific jurisdiction, modifications to provision will be made for only that jurisdiction. Things will remain unchanged for other jurisdictions.

15.5 Force Majeure

If there is a failure or delay in performance of the obligations for a certain duration because of an accident, fires, floods, labor disturbances, wars, riots, government acts, strikes, internet failure, or any regulations by law or government that are not in the hands of a party in the Agreement, such parties will not be responsible for the failure.

15.6 Prevailing Language and Location

English is the preferred language for the Terms of Service on our platform. The terms mentioned in English will be controllable if there are inconsistencies in the translated versions. Our platform is operated and controlled from our locations in the US.

15.7 Access of Our Site Outside the US

We do not make any representations that our platform is suitable to be used outside of the US. If you are using it from any other jurisdiction, it is at your own risk. It will be the responsibility of users to comply with appropriate foreign, US, state, or any other local laws and regulations, such as export and import regulations. You are not allowed to sell, export, transfer, divert, or dispose of the services to other end users if you do not have necessary authorizations from suitable government authorities. You agree with us that you will not receive products, services, and software originated from the US.

If you are using our platform and services, you agree that you:

Do not belong to an area that is prohibited by law, regulation, or administrative act from accessing our site;

Are not a resident or citizen of an area subject to the sanctions of the US or any other sovereign country;

Are not an employee of the entities identified on the US Department of Commerce Denied Persons or Entity List, the U.S. Department of Treasury Specially Designated Nationals or Blocked Persons Lists, the U.S. Department of State Debarred Parties List, not eligible to get belongings related to US export control laws and regulations, or other economic sanction rules of sovereign countries.

If there are any changes or updates to the country of your residence or any other circumstances in such a way that the representations mentioned in this section no longer remain valid, then you will stop the use of our platform and services. Your license to use our platform and services will be blocked on an immediate basis.

15.8 Consent to Use Electronic Records

If you are using our platform and agree with the Terms of Use, then you agree that you may receive some records like notices, contracts, and other written communications from us or our Affiliates. We may send you such records in an electronic form rather than in paper form, to help you to use our platform and services.

16. Definitions

In this section, we have explained the definitions of some of the main terms that have been used in the Terms of Service.

• Confidential Information

The data or information shared by a User with another User on our platform for a Project will be considered as Confidential Information. This information can be in any form, such as electronic, verbal, graphic, visual, tangible.

The data or information of a User that is available publicly will not be considered as Confidential Information. For more clarity, please note that the following information will not be known confidential, if:

• it is generally available to third-parties because of no action or omission by Freelancer or Client;

• it is received lawfully without any restriction on disclosure from third-parties who posses the right to circulate the information;

• it is already available to User before receiving it on our platform, but not received from any third-parties as part of the breach;

• it is independently created by User without making the use of the Confidential Information of another User.

• Escrow Account

Freelancer Escrow Account, Client Escrow Account, or the Fixed-Price Escrow Account are considered as Escrow Account.

• Escrow Instructions

The Fixed-Price Escrow Instructions, Hourly or Bonus and the Expense Payment Agreement are included in Escrow Instructions.

• Fixed-Price Contract

The Service Contracts for which the Client and the Freelancer have agreed for a fixed fee before beginning the contract to get services from the Freelancer will come under Fixed-Price Contracts.

• Freelancer Fees

The Freelancer Fees includes:

• The fixed fee that has been agreed for a Fixed-Price Contract between a Client and a Freelancer;

• The fee charged by a Freelancer for an Hourly Contract that appears in Hourly Invoice;

• Bonuses or other payments by a Freelancer from a Client.

• Freelancer Services

The services done by a Freelancer for Clients are called Freelancer Services.

• Hourly Contract

The Service Contracts for which the Freelancer is charging the Client on an hourly basis are known as Hourly Contracts.

• Hourly Invoice

The invoice of work done by a Freelancer for a Client on an hourly basis during a stated period is known as Hourly Invoice.

• Intellectual Property Rights

All the copyright rights, moral rights, patent rights, trademark, mask work rights, service mark rights, goodwill, trade secret rights, and other such rights that currently exist or come into existence are included in Intellectual Property Rights.

• Payment Method

The payment methods accepted on our platform that are preferred by the Client or the Freelancer, such as credit card, PayPal account, debit card, or any other such methods, are considered as Payment Method.

• Project

The Project is an engagement for service that a Client wants to take from a Freelancer as part of a Service Contract on our platform.

• Staffing Employee

A Freelancer, part of our payroll, who gets employed by a Staffing Provider and provides Freelancer Services to the clients, is a Staffing Employee.

• Service Contract

Service Contract is:

• the contract between a Freelancer and a Client for a Project, where the Freelancer will perform for a Client;

• a Direct Contract as mentioned in our Direct Contract Terms;

• the contractual provisions between Freelancer and Staffing Provider for providing services to Client.

• Substantial Change

Any updates or changes to the terms of Service that impact the rights and responsibilities of Users.

• Work Product

The deliverables that are to be created by a Freelancer as part of performing the Freelancer Services are the Work Products.

In this policy, we have mentioned the way this website uses cookies. If you are using this site and accepting the cookies, it signifies that you are aware of our policy and agree with it. We have the right to update or make changes to the policy without any prior notice or notification, so we suggest you keep yourself updated with the policy by checking back often.

What are cookies?

When you visit a website, some text files get created on your browser. These text files are called cookies. The cookies reside on the browser, having bits of information about the website. When you visit the website again, the web server knows that you have visited the website before.

What are different uses of cookies?

There are several uses of cookies. For instance, it can help the website owners to understand how the visitors are using their site. The cookies improve the efficiency in the way users navigate between the webpages, remember the user preferences, and eventually enhance the browsing experience. Simply said, the cookies power the website with an ability to remember.

Types of cookies we use

Generally, there are six types of cookies used by most of the websites—

• Strictly Necessary Cookies
• Performance Cookies
• Functionality Cookies
• Flash Cookies
• Tailored Content Cookies
• Targeting Cookies

A website might not necessarily be using all these cookies. It depends on site to site. However, we use all these categories of cookies to ensure that our users get the best browsing experience.

We have explained these cookies below in detail.

1. Strictly Necessary Cookies

The strictly necessary cookies are very important for a website to enable some useful features for the visitors as they move around the site. For example, when the visitors navigate to billing or payment pages, these cookies allow the next pages to remember the details of recently opened pages. This way, the billing pages can remember what was added to the cart on the last page.

2. Performance Cookies

These cookies are used to improve the performance of website visitors. When you visit the site, the performance cookies gather some information about how you browse the pages and in case you receive any errors on those pages. Any information that is related to your identity isn’t collected by these cookies.

3. Functionality Cookies

The role of functionality cookies is to remember the user choices, like username, language, text size, fonts, and the location. These cookies provide a personalized experience to the users. For example, if you like to browse the website in any other language than English, these cookies will remember this and provide the content in the preferred language when you visit next time.

The functionality cookies are also used for the services requested frequently by users, like watching YouTube videos. The visitor information collected by these cookies remains anonymous and isn’t enabled for other sites.

4. Flash Cookies

Some websites make use of Adobe Flash Player to provide special content like videos, ads, and animation. Also known as the local shared object, the flash cookies can remember the settings and preferences to enable certain functions and enhance the visitor experience.

For example, the flash cookies can remember the instance when a user stopped playing the video or stopped rotating an animated ad/banner. These are different from other cookies and are stored separately in an Adobe file. This file can be managed or deleted only from the Adobe Flash Player settings.

5. Tailored Content Cookies

The role of tailored content cookies on our site is to provide tailored and relevant content to our visitors. These cookies collect information about what and how you browsed on the site previously. And when you visit the site again, you get tailored content and improved experience. However, these cookies don’t track the browsing activity on any other websites.

6. Targeting Cookies

The targeting cookies are generally used for showing the targeted and more relevant advertisements to the users. These cookies take care that you see an ad only for a limited number of times and measure the efficiency of an ad campaign on the site.

Targeting cookies store information about user interests, which can also be shared with other businesses like advertisers. What this means is that if you have visited our site, you might see ads of our services and offers on other sites.

So, these are the six types of cookies that we use on our website.

How long do the cookies last on your browser?

When it comes to the expiration of the cookies, there are two types—session and persistent. The Session cookies are stored until the browsing session is ON. Once the browser is closed, these cookies get deleted.

On the other hand, the persistent cookies come with an expiry date. These cookies stay on the browsing device as long as the expiry period is reached.

What are first- and third-party cookies?

First party cookies are the ones that belong to our own website. Whereas, the third-party cookies are served by other websites when you are browsing our site. For example, Twitter or Facebook can enable cookies on our site when you click a link to their sites.

How can you manage and delete cookies on your browser?

Through your browser, you can easily manage the cookies, in order to enable, disable or delete them. Every browser has different settings for this, so find this functionality accordingly. This can be usually found in the Help/Tools or Privacy section of the browser.

However, please note that if you choose to disable the cookies, some features or functionalities on our website might not be available for you. For example, you will be unable to apply for work or post a job.

Compliance with data protection laws and privacy regulations is crucial. For example, the European Union (EU) enforced the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the residents of the European Economic Area (EEA). This law aims to allow the residents to know and control the way their data is used. This personal data can include their name, photo, bank information, IP address, contact details, etc.
Another privacy law that came into action this year is California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The role of this law is to improve the way consumers of California protect their privacy and data.
In this section, we have mentioned how we are ensuring compliance with GDPR and CCPA.

Steps were taken by us to comply with these laws

We have taken steps to meet the requirements of all these data protection and privacy laws to ensure that our platform complies with same. Whenever a new law is applicable or updates are made to existing ones, our Legal and Information Security team takes care of the necessary aspects in a diligent manner.
The users on our platform can stay carefree when it comes to taking care of their rights and controlling their confidential data. We allow all our users to close their account or ask us to permanently delete their account and personal data whenever they want. It does not matter from which region or country the user belongs to.
However, every such action that we may take will be based on the rules outlined by GDPR and CCPA, if the user belongs to Europe and California, respectively. For users from other countries, we are considering every request whether it is to delete the account or personal information.

Data Processing Agreement (DPA)

We have formed a Data Processing Agreement to show and govern the relationship between the user’s personal information and us. For the users who fall under the EU’s GDPR law, our DPA shows that the user is the controller of data, and our platform is the processor or sub-processor.
The Data Processing Agreement applies to all the users under GDPR unless things are stated otherwise in writing by the user and Fixnhour.

Submitting a data request

The rights to personal information depend on the location of the user. For some instances, the rights may be limited, such as if we fulfil your data request but it also reveals the information of any other user, or if you submit a request to delete your data which may be required by law. Moreover, we do not delete the data and information that has been shared publicly or with any other user on the platform.
To get your account deleted from our system, you can submit a request through your Account Settings. The Account Settings also allows you to access, edit or delete your personal information. Besides, you can also submit us a request or enquire anything related to your data.
Note: Once your information is deleted, your account will get deactivated. On deactivation of account, you will not be able to use our services.

1. Introduction

In the Terms of Use, we have mentioned the conditions to use our platform. Hence, it is advised to read our Terms of Use with care before using the platform. Some of the sections on our platform are available publicly and can be used by every visitor. Before accepting the Terms of Use, please read the conditions carefully, because some of you may not agree with these conditions.

2. Licenses and Third-Party Content

2.1 Provision of the Site and Limited Site License

Here, we have mentioned that we provide you with a license for using our site and its services. The provided license is based on the compliance with our Terms of Use and Service, as applicable.

Though we put in our best efforts to ensure that our platform is safe and secure, and works well, it is not guaranteed that the operation and use of our Services are always continuous. We may stop providing certain services or features, or completely shut down the site without any prior notice.

2.2 Termination of the License

We hold the right to terminate the visitors or users from using our site and its services, after providing you with a notice for the same. The license termination will become effective as soon as we provide the related notice.

2.3 Intellectual Property

We and our licensors hold the right to all the Intellectual Property Rights associated with our platform and services provided through it. We own our logo and name and have registered the same with relevant jurisdictions. If there are any other logos and company names on our site, then they may be registered and trademarks of respective companies. Please note that we do not allow you to use our logo, name or other marks.

2.4 Users’ Intellectual Property

2.4.1 Users’ Obligations and Indemnification of our Site

It is the sole responsibility of the users and visitors of our site if they are posting any content on our site. In case a claim is made against any of the content posted by users on our site, then we will charge the users for the related expenses.
This section defines that you will share any content on our site only if it is not violating the third-party rights and meets the licensing conditions. If any content is found violating our Terms of Use, then we will not be responsible for the harms caused to you, other users on the platform, or any third-party. Only the user who has generated or shared the content will be responsible for the same. The user will also have to defend and hold harmless not only our platform, but also our affiliates, employees, agents, etc. from all the harmful claims, costs, losses, and expenses.

2.4.2 User Rights and License to Our Platform and Other Users

If a user is sharing content on our site, then the ownership of that content is retained by the user. The user acknowledges that we and our affiliates are allowed to use, reproduce, edit, translate, and share the content shared by users on our platform, to the extent allowed by applicable law. This permission is royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive, and irrevocable. The user-generated content may be used for promoting our site in media or any other form, in connection with our site and our affiliates.
Hence, you acknowledge that the other users and our site visitors may access your shared content to the extent allowed by our site, based on applicable confidentiality and law, Terms of Service, and our Privacy Policy.

2.4.3 User Comments and Ideas

We allow the users on our platform to share ideas or submit comments to improve our site and its services.
If you submit an idea or comment on our site, then you acknowledge that (i) your ideas will be unpaid, complementary, spontaneous, and will not force us to act on these, (ii) the ideas do not belong to any third party, (iii) we may use the shared ideas without paying any commission to you, and (iv) we may share these ideas with others on a non-confidential basis.

2.5 Third-Party Intellectual Property

If any user, third party, or site visitor shares content or any idea on our site, it will belong to the respective author or distributor. It does not belong to us and we can not be held responsible for the accuracy or reliability of such ideas or opinions. We are only responsible for the comments or ideas shared by us or our authorized agents.
We may have links to third-party sites and applications on our platform that help users to access third-party platforms through our site. Our licensors do not own these websites, neither do they operate it. Only the respective third-parties own and operate those sites and applications. It also does not mean that we are endorsing those sites and applications if they have been linked on our site. If you are accessing those links, then it will be at your own risk without any warranty for the purpose.

2.6 Complaints About Copyrighted Content

Our platform is compliant with US copyright and relevant laws. We require all our users and visitors to stay compliant with the same. Hereby, you agree that you will not save or store any content on our site that may violate the third-party intellectual rights and the US copyright law. >
In case you find that any content or material on our site is violating the US copyright law and you own that copyrighted content or material, then you may use the available provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by getting compliant with our Proprietary Rights Infringement Reporting Procedures.

3. Use of Our Site

Our site and its services are meant only for business. We do not offer the site and services for any personal or consumer use. Users can make use of our site to find other users, offer them services or receive services, and send and receive payments via Escrow Account.
Some of the sections on our site are meant for providing information or updates to the visitors, such as our blog, career page, headquarters, etc. Our teams ensure that the information provided on our site is accurate and updated, but certain errors may appear. For the information available on our site, we do not warrant that it is always correct. Hence, we advise that you should not rely solely on our content for any legal advice or other recommendations. It is suggested to verify the accuracy of the information on an independent basis.

4. Prohibited Use of Our Site

The users and visitors on our site are not allowed to use or encourage others to use our site or its services for the activities that can violate the laws or regulations. The site should not be used for any illegal or fraudulent purposes that can cause harm to other users, or share content that is objectionable and harmful to others.

4.1 Examples of Prohibited Use of Our Site

Below are a few examples of the way users or visitors are not allowed to use our site:
You are prohibited to provide, promote, or endorse the content, activities, or services that:

• Can violate our Intellectual Property Rights;
• Are illegal, vulgar, pornographic, threatening, or sexual in nature;
• Can harass other users as a result of their inclusion in the content;
• Promote any illegal services, escorts, prostitution, etc.
• Can violate our Terms of Service, Terms of Service of other websites, or the academic policies of educational institutions;
• Spread false content or fake news that can mislead other users and result in financial losses.
• Sharing of fraudulent or misleading content, such as:
• Use of fake profile photos that represent someone else;
• Showing your skills and experience the wrong way to represent yourself as another person;
• Falsely representing yourself as another user, forum leader, or showing the relationship with other users, agencies on our platform, etc.;
• Billing the clients in a fraudulent way, including manipulating the work hours, recording the work hours of other users to show as your own;
• Attributing comments or statements to our representatives or hosts falsely;
• Falsely showing your relationship with us or any other organization;
• Use of your account by another person that can mislead the other users on our platform;
• Falsely bidding on a project on the behalf of any freelancer who is not available or interested to work on the project;
• Sharing identity or personal details of other users that can concern the related person;
• Posting a single job for more than once or spamming other users with proposals;
• Asking for the fee before submitting any proposals;
• Asking or paying bribes with no intention of offering the services;
• Asking for free services or for a very little amount;
• Manipulation or misuse of our feedback system, by:
• Asking for positive reviews from the users by withholding their payment or through any other conducts;
• Threatening other users to share negative feedback about them;
• Providing the services only to get positive reviews from the users;
• Sharing irrelevant opinions, like making of social, religious, or political comments;
• Creating fake or duplicate accounts, or sharing a single account with multiple persons;
• Selling your account to other users without our consent;
• Including the contact details, like phone number, email address, Skype ID etc. in the profile or job post;
• Advertising or promoting other freelancers, agencies, or companies on our platform to find projects or hire freelancers;
• Creating interference or obstacles to the operation of our site or services;
• Preventing us from restricting access to certain parts of our platform;
• Trying to compromise our systems or security or any hacking attempts;
• Running bot scripts, spiders, or other automated systems on our site for any purpose;
• Infecting our site or imposing a heavy load on our servers for malicious purposes;
• Try to access our site and services through any means that is not allowed by us;
• Deriving the source code of our site without permission, or attempting to modifying the things on our site to affect the operation;
• Trying to use or access our site to create a similar platform by running a benchmark or analysis test.

4.2 Enforcement

We hold the right to look into and investigate if a user is found violating our Terms of Service or Use, to disable or remove such violating content from our platform. In case we miss investigating any breach on our site, it does not mean that we do not have the right to investigate such breaches. Please note that it is not guaranteed that we will investigate and take action against every violation happening on our site.

4.3 Reporting and Correcting Violations

In case you find any user or content violating our Terms of Use, please report it to us or our Customer Service. For such violations, you agree to help us with the required investigation so that we can sort things out and take the required steps to remove such violations from our site.

5. Definitions

In this section, we have defined the meanings of certain terms mentioned in our Terms of Use:
1. Client: An authorized user on our site who is looking for services from Freelancers.
2. Freelancer: An authorized user who is providing freelancer services to clients. A Freelancer can be an individual as well as an agency registered as a freelancer.
3. Affiliate: An entity who is working as an intermediary (directly or indirectly) and is under our common control.
4. Freelancer Services: The services offered by a Freelancer.
5. Intellectual Property Rights: These include copyright rights, moral rights, publicity rights, trademark, service mark rights, trade secret rights, etc. that are currently active and may come into effect hereafter.
6. Site: This means our website, mobile website, application, as well as affiliate websites that are owned by us or our successors and predecessors.
7. Site Services: The services offered on our site.
8. You: Any person who is visiting, accessing or using or site.

Our Escrow Instructions are applicable for the clients and freelancers who enter a contract on an hourly basis, and the client pays some bonus or additional payment to the freelancer.
We reserve the right to make changes to our Escrow instructions (to the extent allowed by law), without notifying the users. Such changes will come into effect once we share these on our site unless stated otherwise. Hence, we recommend our users to check the site often to keep a track of the changes.
Please note that the Escrow Instructions do not apply to Fixed-Price Escrow Accounts unless there is governance of bonus or additional payment.

1. Digital Signature

When a contract on an hourly basis or bonus payment is accepted, it is considered that both the client and the freelancer have executed the instructions in the electronic form. This agreement will be deemed effective on the date clicked to accept any such contract. It will be according to the E-Sign Act enforced by the California Civil Code section 1633.8 and the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 USC Section 7001.
Acceptance of the hourly contracts or bonus payments on our platform means the freelancer and the client are acknowledging that they can receive, download, and print these Escrow Instructions and the Agreement electronically.

2.Hourly Payments

For the hourly projects based on weekly billing cycle, please note that the billing cycle will begin at midnight UTC and finishes every Sunday at 23:59 UTC. Once the week is over, our system will generate the respective invoices every Monday of the following week, on the basis of the hours recorded in the system.

Hereby, the freelancers acknowledge us to:
1. Generate the relevant invoice on behalf of the freelancer for the hours he/she worked for during the week, and which have been recorded in our system.
2. Share the generated invoice with the Client for payment.

All the hours during which the freelancer works is recorded in our system (Work Diary) and an invoice is generated based on the recorded hours. By recording the hours during the week, the freelancer agrees that he has worked on the given tasks fully and satisfactorily, and the reports are accurate and complete.
It is the duty of the client to review and approve the hourly invoices by Friday (11:59 UTC). In case there are any disputes, we will provide four more days to the client. During the disputes, the payment will remain on hold in the escrow before the release of the payment.
Once the client has approved the invoices, our system will generate the invoice on the Friday of the week. Here, the client acknowledges and allows our platform to release the payment from escrow to the freelancer.
If no action is taken by the client to review and approve the hourly work done by the freelancer, then we will automatically approve it, considering the hours recorded in the work diary. The client agrees and allows us to release the payment for the generated invoice from client’s account on the Monday following the week during which the freelancer worked.

3. Making bonus, tip, or miscellaneous payment

For the work done by a freelancer, the client may pay some bonus, tip, or expense payment through our platform. In case a client is making such payments to any freelancer on our platform, he/she will have to adhere to the instructions on our site. The client may also be asked to share the required information. For any miscellaneous payment, the client agrees and allows our escrow to release the payment to freelancer.

4. Irreversible payments

The client agrees that once he/she has instructed or authorized our system to pay the freelancer from the Client Escrow Account, the payment will be irreversible. This also represents that the client has reviewed the work done by the freelancer and inspected it before transferring the funds. Once the payment is done, our system, Escrow, or any affiliate will not be responsible to recover the funds. Hence, the client agrees and acknowledges that once our Escrow or any subsidiary has deducted the amount from the client’s payment method, it will not be refunded.

5. Releasing amounts in Escrow

Along with the things mentioned above, our Escrow is allowed to release and deliver the required and applicable funds from the Client Escrow Account to the Freelancer Escrow Account. This release and delivery of amounts in Escrow will be done on the basis of applicable Terms of Service and laws.
Following are the conditions according to which the payment will be released and delivered from Client’s Escrow Account to the Freelancer Escrow Account.

Conditions for releasing the payment

1. For the funds released from the Client Escrow Account to the Freelancer Escrow Account, both the client and the freelancer have mutually submitted the written instructions.

2. The conditions of releasing the payment are applicable only for the amounts that are invoiced by the freelancer and the client has approved it. If the client approves the full invoice, the released payment will be full. If the client approves a portion of the hourly invoice, then only that portion of the payment will be released.

3. The freelancer is working under a Services Contract involving our payroll and shared the Hourly Invoice accordingly.

4. Before processing the payment to freelancer, we review the disputes (if any) between the client and the freelancer on the basis of the work done by the freelancer and recorded in our Work Diaries.

5. The client starts the dispute related to the Hourly Invoice of the freelancer without work diaries, and the client and the freelancer resolve the dispute without our involvement.

6. In case there is a final order from a court or an arbitrator of competent jurisdiction, then the payment will be processed on the basis of that order.

7. If a client or a freelancer violates our Terms of Service, or commits or attempts any fraud or illegal act, our Escrow is allowed to take required and appropriate actions as per the applicable law to stop or remedy such acts.

6. Protection of Payment

We protect the payment for the freelancers and clients, as mentioned below;

6.1 For Freelancers

In rare cases when a client does not pay the freelancer for his/her services, then we will provide the Hourly Payment Protection to the freelancer, on the basis of conditions detailed in this section. This Hourly Payment Protection aims to reward the loyalty of the freelancers and encourage them to continue to use our services.

We will provide the Hourly Payment Protection to the freelancers if the following criteria are met:

1. Both the client and freelancer have used the work diaries for the respective hourly contract.

2. The client has a valid account with a verified method for payment before starting an Hourly Contract. He/she must have agreed to pay the freelancer automatically on the basis of services recorded in work diaries.

3. Freelancer has a valid account.

4. Freelancer has allowed his work to be recorded by the work diaries.

5. Before submitting the Hourly Invoice, the freelancer needs to share the screenshots of work diaries to show that he/she has worked on the Hourly Contract.

6. The submitted screenshots must be associated with the Hourly Contract in question.

7. The number of hours for which the freelancer has worked and visible in the screenshot should not be more than the hours authorized in the Hourly Contract.

8. To protect the payment of Hourly Contracts, the freelancer will need to submit the dispute with documentation within five days of rejected or unpaid time.

Before providing the hourly payment protection, we will investigate and find whether the above-listed terms and conditions are met.
Please note that we do not provide hourly payment protection in for the following:

1. The client has not authorized the Hourly Invoices;

2. Refunds;

3. Additional or manual time;

4. Bonus or miscellaneous payment;

5. Work done after the billing approved by the client;

6. Fixed-price contracts;

7. Payroll employees reporting hours;

8. The Hourly Contracts not meeting our Terms of Service;

9. Hours billed by the freelancer violates our agreement;

10. We believe or find the freelancer involved in any fraudulent activities or abuse of our Payment Protection.

Along with these terms, also note that the maximum hourly rate paid to the freelancers for Hourly Payment Protection will be less than the:

1. The rate mentioned in the Hourly Contract terms;

2. The hourly rate billing generally by the freelancer on our site;

3. The ongoing hourly rate for the skills possessed by the freelancer;

We provide a maximum of $2,500 or 50 hours recorded in the work diary (whichever is less) for the life of a commitment between the freelancer and same client.

6.2 For Clients

The freelancer agrees that we will remove the invoiced hours which are not associated with the terms of Hourly Contract or not agreed to work upon by the client. We will also remove the hours which are not authorized in the weekly Hourly Contract, on the basis of the terms detailed below:

1. It is required that both the freelancer and the client allow the recording of the working hours as part of the Hourly Contracts.

2. The client’ account must be valid and have a verified Payment Method. The client must allow us to automatically pay the freelancer on the basis of hourly work done by the freelancer. If there are hours in the billing invoice that are not related to the contract, the client will need to submit a dispute for the same during the period Hourly Invoice Review.

We will investigate and confirm to ensure that both the freelancer and the client are meeting the above terms.

If a client thinks that a freelancer is asking for Hourly Protection unnecessarily, or the freelancer is using some on-site functions or third-party tools to compromise the things in Work Diary, then the client will need to submit relevant screenshots from his/her side showing whether the freelancer is eligible for Hourly Payment Protection or not.

Please note that the Hourly Payment Protection for the clients is not applicable to fixed-price contracts, hourly contracts based on our Payroll, or the billed hours violate another user’s Terms of Service.

7. Disputes between Client and Freelancer

7.1 Disputes started on our platform

It is the responsibility of the client to review the work done by the freelancer and the Hourly Invoice of the contracts done on weekly basis. If there are any disputes, then the client has to initiate it before the week, i.e. Sunday midnight UTC to Sunday 11:59 pm UTC. We allow the client to initiate the dispute during the Dispute Period. The Dispute Period starts after the generation of weekly invoice (Monday 12 am-midnight UTC to Friday 11:59 pm UTC).

No disputes will be considered after the Dispute Period. If there are no disputes initiated during the Dispute Period, we will consider that the client has accepted the services provided by the freelancer. Please note that our responsibility is to handle the disputes related to hours billed, not to handle the quality of work done by the freelancer.

When there is a dispute between the freelancer and the client related to the Hourly Invoice, we suggest that they resolve the dispute between themselves. In case they do not come up with a resolution, we will look into the Hourly Invoice to find if an adjustment will be appropriate. Our determination will then be considered as the final decision to resolve the dispute.

In case the payment made by the client is not successful, we will check the Weekly Invoice to find if the freelancer is eligible for Hourly Payment Protection. If the freelancer is found eligible, we will make the payment to the freelancer on behalf of the client. Once we have made the payment to the freelancer, the client must not show any interest in asking for the payment from the client.

If there are any disputes from the client-side, he/she has the choice to approve the payment for Weekly Invoice before the end of the Dispute Period. If the client is approving the invoice, then the client accepts that he/she has received and accepted the freelancer’s services. The client will then not be allowed to initiate the dispute or make use of our Dispute Assistance.

In the case of a dispute between the client and the freelancer, our Escrow or affiliates may hold or delay the payment. For the freelancers working on our Payroll, the client will not be allowed to initiate the dispute for hours. In this case, the Dispute Period is not applicable. If a freelancer is working on our Payroll on an hourly basis, we will release the payment immediately.

7.2 Dispute Assistance

We provide Dispute Assistance to the users on our platform for the next 30 days from the date of the last release of payment from the client’s side to freelancer. Also, our Dispute Assistance is non-binding. If any user asks us for Dispute Assistance in the valid duration, then we will look into the dispute to review it and provide a mutual and non-binding resolution. Please note that we will review only the last 30 days of work done from the date of the user asking for Dispute Assistance.

Once a support ticket is submitted to us regarding the dispute, we will ask for the related information and documentation for investigation. Once the freelancer and the client submit the required information, we will start the investigation and also check the information available on our site. After reviewing the matter, we will provide a mutual and non-binding resolution on the basis of what we determine from the review.

As mentioned already, the resolution provided by us will be non-binding, and the users will have the choice to agree on it or not. Once the client and freelancer agree with the resolution, our Escrow will then be authorized to release the related payment on the basis of resolution.

In case the client or the freelancer do not agree with the resolution provided by us, then they will have to resolve the dispute independently.

We reserve the right to look into the work done by the freelancer in the last 30 days from the date when a request of Dispute Assistance is submitted. We may adjust the invoices accordingly to allow our Escrow to release the fund to the client if the freelancer has violated our Terms of Service, does not meet Hourly Contract requirements, or has not recorded the hours in the work diary.

Please note that our Dispute Assistance is not applicable to the freelancers working with our Payroll.

8. Responsibility of Services and Payments

The role of our platform and our affiliates is to bring a platform for internet payment solutions. We are not responsible for the services provided by a freelancer to the client. We are not an agent for any freelancer or client for the services and payment methods. Hence, it is not our guarantee, warranty, or liability for the performance of a freelancer of his/her works quality, or the client will make timely payments.

This privacy policy aims to inform you about the policies and procedures used to collect, use, and disclose the information throughout the website. It applies to all the features, applications, widgets, and services that are a part of our website. It also defines the choices you get related to the use, access, and the way you update or correct your personal info. It should be noted that some of the services mentioned here might not be available on service all the times. In this section, we have mentioned the brief about our Privacy Policy so that you learn how we collect your information, what is collected, how we use the information, the choices you get regarding it. It is highly recommended that you read the below brief points to better understand our data practices.

1. Information Collection

The user base of this website includes Freelancers, Clients, and Agencies.

Fixnhour's vision

To connect businesses with great talent to wrok without limits.

Fixnhour's mission

To create economic opportunities so people have better lives.

A new way of working is born

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.

This agreement has been created with reference to our Terms of Service and User Agreement. If there are any changes to this agreement in the future, we will provide the freelancers with advance notice about the same. The continuation of use of our services after the date of such changes will be considered that you have accepted the modifications to this agreement.

Parties in this agreement

This agreement is between us and the freelancers working on our platform.

Membership Programs for Freelancers

We provide a number of membership programs for freelancers and agencies. If we have mentioned the words ‘member’ or ‘you’, then these refer to a freelancer or agency that has taken part in our membership program.
Please note that every membership program has its limitations when it comes to submitting proposals for the projects posted by the clients on our platform. To allow you to submit additional proposals, we may charge some amount for the same on the basis of the pricing determined for the respective membership program.
If you do not submit the maximum number of proposals allowed by the membership program, we will shift the remaining opportunities to the next month of your program. You can then use these opportunities to propose more clients. The terms and conditions will be applicable for the unused opportunities on the basis of the respective membership program.
We hold the right to make updates to our membership fees and the number of maximum proposals that can be submitted by the freelancer. We may also roll out updates to cost you based on ‘per proposal’ model at any time. Before any such changes, we will notify you in advance or share the update on our site.
Please note that we will not refund for the membership fees that have already been paid, in any case.

Taxes

We may charge required and applicable taxes on the membership fee and the price of per proposal submitted for projects posted by clients.

Renewal of Membership

The membership fees and cost of per proposal are charged from your Escrow Account with us. The starting date of the billing period of your membership will be the one on which we receive the payment from you. We renew your membership automatically every month. The membership agreement authorizes us to automatically renew your membership every month and charge you for the same on your behalf. This authorization of charging you every month for membership renewal will not change unless you make changes to your membership plan from your Profile Settings. Alternatively, you can also get in touch with us to update your membership plan or cancel your account.

Modifications to Membership Program

We allow you to make changes to your membership program whenever you want to. In case, you modify your membership program or choose a new plan, the date when we receive the payment will be considered as the date of starting of a billing period. If applicable, we will credit the unused amount from your previous membership to the new one. However, please note that the unused amount will not be credited if you choose to downgrade your membership. Also, there will not be any refund for the fees that you have already paid. In such a case, we will keep your membership program active until the end of your existing billing period. It will not be renewed automatically.
In case you do not pay the membership fee for renewal or your account gets suspended before renewal, we will downgrade the account to an unpaid membership plan. If you want to further change your membership plan after suspension or downgrading, it can be changed as mentioned in this agreement.
For more information about upgrading, downgrading, or cancelling the membership program, you can get in touch with our support team.

This privacy policy aims to inform you about the policies and procedures used to collect, use, and disclose the information throughout the website. It applies to all the features, applications, widgets, and services that are a part of our website. It also defines the choices you get related to the use, access, and the way you update or correct your personal info. It should be noted that some of the services mentioned here might not be available on service all the times. In this section, we have mentioned the brief about our Privacy Policy so that you learn how we collect your information, what is collected, how we use the information, the choices you get regarding it. It is highly recommended that you read the below brief points to better understand our data practices.

1. Information Collection

The user base of this website includes Freelancers, Clients, and Agencies.

Fixnhour's vision

To connect businesses with great talent to wrok without limits.

Fixnhour's mission

To create economic opportunities so people have better lives.

A new way of working is born

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