Before you apply to Working Solutions, know what's missing in the contract
One of seven concerns: 54 hours of Turbo Tax training for a $100 stipend is only $0.03 per minute
Writer’s note: “Work Fluently From Home,” or WFFH, is a series within “Window Shopping” geared toward entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, gig workers and startups.
There’s something about training that has always intrigued me, even after 19 years in journalism. I enjoy creating Loom web tutorials for clients and friends at various tech-savvy stages. And as much as I despise math, I have been doing my own taxes since I was 16 years old.
So when I heard about Working Solutions’ seasonal position with Turbo Tax, it seemed like a win-win. I could do what I’ve been doing for almost two decades (working with online products and websites), help ease some frustration with doing taxes (as the daughter of a credit union manager and banker), and do so from the comfort of my own home.
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What could possibly go wrong? Turns out it’s everything. While working from home, setting your own hours, taking breaks when you need to and having side income all sounds like an amazing experience, there are at least seven downsides that Working Solutions independent contractors should be aware of before signing the Independent Contractor Agreement or the Turbo Tax Schedule A form.
1. Contractors will pay a $25 onetime sign-up fee.
“As a condition to the effectiveness of this Agreement, and Contractor's ability to access the Company's Platform, Contractor agrees to pay a one-time management services fee of $25 to reimburse the Company for expenses associated with establishing Contractor on, and providing Contractor access to, the Company's scheduling, invoicing and payment platforms; expenses of maintenance and distribution of accounting and financial reports and records; and technical support related to payment processing platforms.”
- Independent Contract Agreement for Working Solutions
I was a bit startled by the number of prior contractors who confirmed they’d never paid this onetime fee, along with a new contractor who didn’t realize he was an independent contractor and assumed that this $25 charge would be something “the client would pay for.” Wrong! Each new independent contractor will have this mandatory charge deducted from their own earnings. And the trainers could never seem to explain what exactly the independent contractors were paying for, especially considering we’re required to buy all necessary equipment (minus a short-term camera to be promptly returned via USPS), along with our own Internet and smartphone bills.
2. Working Solutions requires independent contractors to work two hours for FREE with Turbo Tax customers, doing the exact kind of work that they would normally be paid for, but structure it as “training” because it’s during “training hours.”
“Our process consists of several dimensions of learning, and customer service agents have followed this process all the years we have had this client. It has helped our company achieve the highest performance of all the companies working for this tax preparation company.”
- Working Solutions representative (via the Better Business Bureau)
Although I’m in full support of internships and apprenticeships that help people improve at their job, it’s highly suspicious to ask approximately 800 people (eight new groups of 100 or so) to all work for free for two straight hours for “training” purposes.
While two hours of working with the public (after eight additional days of training for six hours, totaling 48 hours, and not including after-training quizzes that lasted anywhere from four to eight hours each day) may “help [our] company achieve the highest performance,” the problem with this ultimatum is that independent contractors are required to do this in order to get their $100 stipend back.
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Working with real customers for two hours is nowhere in the Independent Contractor Agreement or the Turbo Tax Schedule A form. Unless trainees read the entire nine-day agenda beforehand, they may overlook what they’re expected to do on Day 9. If all 75 (about 45 in my 120-trainee group quit) contractors were being paid for these same “training” calls, that would be a minimum of $0.26 per minute and earnings of $31.20 per person for two hours (and $2,340 that Working Solutions gets to keep in their pocket). Multiply $2,340 by eight different training groups of 100 (assuming they didn't quit), and that “training” amount is pretty steep. Meanwhile, again, independent contractors still only get $100 stipend total for all nine days regardless.