#FreelanceLife #WorkLifeBalance #BossFromHell
So here’s the deal: I’ve been working as a freelancer in Europe, and I recently found myself in a pretty sticky situation with my American boss. 😩
Long story short, this supervisor, who came to Europe for that sweet work-life balance, is super pushy. They like to call me on weekends and ask for random, extra work that isn’t even part of my contract. It’s a bit ironic, considering they were always bashing the US work culture! I thought I was setting healthy boundaries by simply asking to bill those extra hours instead of working for free during my time off. You know, let’s keep things professional, right?
- Initially, I thought my boss would catch on, but instead, I got a message blaming me for poor time management. 😳 Seriously? They said I shouldn’t confuse being overwhelmed with having a heavy workload. Like, what?!
- When I asked for examples of how my organization skills were lacking, they went completely silent for a week. Ghosted! 👻
- Then, just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, I received a termination email! They claimed my conduct was disrespectful, and to top it off, they waited until the last moment to send the notice.
Now, I’m not an expert on freelance labor protection laws, but can you really fire someone just for asking to be paid for excessive overtime? 🤔 I feel like my boss totally overlooked the very protections they moved here for!
So, what do you all think? Have any of you faced similar situations with pushy bosses or crazy work expectations? 🤷♀️ Let’s chat about it! I’d love to hear your experiences or any tips you might have for navigating these tricky work relationships!
To help us a little bit, which country is that ?
Freelance Labor Protection laws?
Well, you need to get paid according to your agreement / contract … just like you are required to deliver.
Unless you’re in a country where freelance doesn’t mean the same as it does in the European country I live in, that’s all you can expect.
Are you confusing Part Time Limited Contract (a common European thing) with freelance?
If you’re freelance you generally do the work you’re contracted to do, and agree that contract before you start.
I’m doing some freelance work at the moment, I bill them for hours worked, regardless of when that is. If they contact me and that needs actioning immediately then that’s added to the hours invoiced to them. I’m also unavailable at weekends or evenings as mentioned in my contract.
witch country and what company????
Freelance means that you are not am employee and therefore have no protection. If you are dependent in a client you have to be available for them 24/7.
The trick is to put a emergency weekend consultation fee in the small print that a 15 min call cost them 300$. After the first bill the weekend calls will drop to a minimum.
Why would you answer a call from your boss when you’re not at work?
Aussie here. The one time (in 30+ years) I answered a call from my boss when I was not at work, when I was next AT work, I had them educated about such things by HR.
And yes, good boss, though a Californian, and we still got on pretty well after their education.
It’s called American Uber Capitalism..They have exported it to the World through cohersion, sanctions or the barrel of a gun.. It’s a free hand to exploit your fellow human beings to the enth degree.
Americans have zero work-life balance unless they are at the top of the organization. American managers power trip on workers because no one can survive here without work, and most workers don’t have the financial resources to walk away. The ethos and practice of employment in America is very broken, non-unionized, and exploitive. I am an American who works for international companies because American companies love cruelty and treat their workers like disposable slaves.
Translation might be failing me, but it looks as if you are classified as a Freiberufler? But you seem to be working as an employee.
You may have protections as a freelancer due to your contract or German laws. But even more damning for them, you may not qualify as a freelancer. If they misclassified you you could be in for a big payout by going through employment lawyers or labor boards.
You are an employee not a freelancer according to the definition of German law.
[https://berlinstartupjobs.com/guide-working-in-berlin/difference-hiring-employees-and-freelancers-in-germany/](https://berlinstartupjobs.com/guide-working-in-berlin/difference-hiring-employees-and-freelancers-in-germany/)
You need to talk to whatever government department deals with labor issues and possibly a lawyer.