Should I make two hundred bucks in 5 minutes?

[ilya]

Kinda long, Cliff notes at the bottom.

I'm a native Russian speaker and occasionally take contract jobs translating documents from or to Russian. Recently, one of my contacts commissioned me to translate a short brochure for a local business. I did the work and sent the translation to her.

A week later she gives me a call and tells me that there was a problem with some of the translations. Apparently my work was fine, but another translator made a mistake while working on another brochure for the same business. My employer asks me to correct the work and says that she will pay me the full $200 that she would have paid to the other translator. So, basically, she plans not to pay the other guy at all even though 95% of his work is fine.

I feel weird about this...especially since the business also asked for a minor correction to my own translation. It would be super quick&easy for me to make the corrections and pocket the $200. And even if I refuse to do it the other guy probably won't get paid anyway. On the other hand I think it's messed up that my contractor plans to not pay the other freelancer at all....I understand not giving him work in the future, or docking his pay, but zilch? It doesn't seem fair, especially since my translation didn't perfectly satisfy either. My other worry is that by taking the money I would be setting a dangerous precedent...i.e. three months down the line she gives me a $1000 job, then refuses to pay me arbitrarily and tells me I have no right to complain cos I took the $200. I have no reason to distrust her, but I don't have any great reason to trust her either.

So what's my play, OOT?

CLIFF NOTES: Contractor wants to give me all of another freelancer's wages for making minor corrections to his work.

[Golden_Rhino]

Congrats on the moral stand. I wouldn't take it. I would assume that the world of translators is a small one, and you don't want to be known as 'that guy'.

[bobman0330]

I don't see how any of the rest of that stuff is your business. They're offering you $200 to do a job. If they try to stiff one of their other employees, then that's his concern.

I would be a little leery of doing work for these people in the future though. Also, if you have a written contract, I might give that a good read-through.

[Apathy]

Take the 200, find out who the guy/girl is and split it with them.

[Cornell Fiji]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't see how any of the rest of that stuff is your business. They're offering you $200 to do a job.

[/ QUOTE ]

Do the job. Tell them that you will never consent to your wages being witheld in such a manner in the future. Do not work for them without written consent that they will pay you for all of the work that you do.

The guy who did the [censored] job is not going to see any cash anyway. You not doing the job does not make any sense

[mjkidd]

Take the job, get paid, give no money to anyone else. This ain't no hippie commune.

[Mason Hellmuth]

[ QUOTE ]
Take the job, get paid, give no money to anyone else. This ain't no hippie commune.

[/ QUOTE ]
He's a native Russian speaker. Russia is a hippie commune.

[mjkidd]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Take the job, get paid, give no money to anyone else. This ain't no hippie commune.

[/ QUOTE ]
He's a native Russian speaker. Russia is a hippie commune.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good call. That Putin is so in to free love smoking the reefer.

[Case Closed]

[ QUOTE ]
Take the job, get paid, give no money to anyone else. This ain't no hippie commune.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly OP, you translate for money. They want you to fix a document for easy money. Do it and buy yourself something nice.

[adsman]

I do translating work as well and I've never heard of something like this. I wouldn't do it.