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Contracts – Terms & Conditions

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These Contract Terms apply only to ongoing, long-term collaborations between Freelancers (“Talents”) and Customers (“Buyers”) on Sisu Talents. They work together with our main Terms & Conditions.

Our goal is to make contracts safe, transparent, and easy to follow.

1. Who Can Create Contracts

  • Only Talents can currently propose and create contracts.
  • Buyers cannot initiate a contract themselves at this time.

2. How to Start a Contract

  1. The Buyer should first contact the Talent via Sisu Talents Messages.
  2. If both agree to start a long-term collaboration, the Talent sends a Contract Offer directly inside the Messages page.
  3. The Buyer can then accept it in:
  • The Contracts section, OR
  • Inside Messages, using the contract link shown in the conversation sidebar.
  1. Please note that you need to have at least one active payment method in order to accept a contract offer.

Once accepted, the contract becomes active.

3. What a Contract Includes

Contracts on Sisu Talents can be:

  • Hourly (the Talent logs the hours worked each week), or
  • Word-based (the Talent logs the number of words completed each week).

Each contract includes:

  • The agreed hourly or per-word rate
  • A weekly billing cycle
  • Automatic invoice generation
  • Payment deadlines
  • Dispute windows
  • Late fees and frozen-contract rules
  • An optional minimum weekly commitment (hours or words), if agreed between the parties

All invoices are created automatically based on the Talent’s submitted work.

4. Minimum Commitment Rules

If the parties agree on a minimum weekly number of hours or words, the following rules apply.

4.1 Automatic Minimum Billing

If a minimum number of hours/words per week is set:

  • The Buyer will be automatically invoiced for at least the minimum agreed amount every week.
  • This applies even if no work has been logged.
  • Example:
  • Hourly rate: €15
  • Minimum hours per week: 5
  • Automatic invoice amount: €15 × 5h = €75

4.2 Mandatory Notice Period

If a minimum weekly commitment is set:

  • A termination notice period becomes mandatory.
  • The notice period may be between 1–4 weeks, chosen in the contract.
  • Either party can end the contract, which starts the notice period.
  • During the notice period, the agreed minimum weekly hours/words continue to apply, and the Buyer will be invoiced for at least the minimum amount each week.
  • This protects the Talent with income stability and gives the Buyer enough time for handovers or transitions.

5. Weekly Work Logging

  • Each contract week runs from Monday 00:00 CET to Sunday 23:59 CET.
  • Once the Buyer accepts the contract, the Talent logs their hours worked or words delivered directly in the Contracts Page each week.
  • Work logs for the previous week are locked on Monday at 12:00 PM (noon) CET. After this point, no edits can be made to that week’s records.

6. Invoicing & Payments

  • A weekly invoice is generated automatically after the week’s logs are locked.
  • Buyers must maintain a valid payment method.
  • Payment deadline: Friday at 12:00 PM (noon) CET.
  • Buyers must pay the invoice or open a dispute before the deadline.

6.1 Proof of Work & Communication Rules

To ensure fair and verifiable dispute resolution, only communication and files exchanged through the Sisu Talents platform can be used as valid proof in a dispute.

  • Messages, files, agreements, and deliveries must be kept inside Sisu Talents.
  • Any communication or work delivered outside the platform (WhatsApp, email, Zoom chat, Slack, private documents, etc.) cannot be accepted as evidence.
  • If either party claims non-performance (for example, “the Talent did not work” or “the Buyer did not provide needed information”), the system will only review the on-platform communication history.
  • For your own protection, always keep important updates, instructions, decisions, and deliveries inside Sisu Talents.

This rule protects both parties and ensures that disputes can be handled fairly, consistently, and transparently.

6.2 Late Payments

If payment is late:

  • A late fee of €5 or 5%, whichever is higher, applies.
  • The system will automatically attempt payment.
  • If payment is successful, the invoice becomes final and non-disputable.
  • If payment fails, the contract is frozen until payment is resolved.

7. Disputes

  • Any dispute about the weekly work must be submitted before Friday at 12:00 PM (noon) CET.
  • Disputes submitted after this time are invalid, and the invoice is considered accepted.
  • A contract invoice dispute can currently be opened by the Buyer and pauses automatic payment while it is open.
  • During a dispute, the parties continue their conversation inside the contract’s on-platform chat, which our support team can review if needed. If the parties cannot agree, the dispute can be escalated to Sisu Talents, whose decision is final.
  • Where a reduction or cancellation of an invoice is granted, the affected invoice is adjusted or voided accordingly. Full dispute and refund handling is described in the main Terms & Conditions.

8. Talent Work Rules

Talents must:

  • Send all contract proposals via Sisu Talents Messages.
  • Log work only on the Contracts Page.
  • Stop working immediately if the contract becomes frozen. Working during a frozen period may result in non-payment.

9. Platform Role & Liability

Sisu Talents only provides the tools to help Talents and Buyers manage ongoing work. Sisu Talents is not a party to the contract. We do not guarantee quality of work or enforce performance. We facilitate invoicing, payments, and dispute workflows based on information provided by users. Both parties are responsible for reviewing contract terms and verifying logged work.

Sisu Talents is not liable for any loss of income or any hours/words invoiced in a contract between a Talent and a Buyer. Sisu Talents acts solely as a tool between the two parties and is not part of the actual contract.

10. Commission & Fees

  • A 5% platform fee applies to both the Talent and the Buyer on every contract payment.
  • Applicable VAT is added automatically according to law.
  • Invoices are generated automatically for each contract week. Where an invoice remains unpaid past the deadline, an invoicing/late fee may apply as described in Section 6.2.

11. Compliance & Fair Use

Sisu Talents may suspend or revoke a user’s ability to enter contracts if:

  • Payment methods fail repeatedly
  • Work logs are intentionally inaccurate
  • A user violates the platform’s Terms & Conditions

12. Other

Sisu Talents’ general Terms & Conditions apply in addition to these Contract Terms. Where these Contract Terms and the general Terms & Conditions differ specifically in relation to Contracts, these Contract Terms prevail.