Recession ethics for freelancers

Times is tough. Even if you’re drowning in work, chances are you’ve had at least one steady client cut your rates this year, or worse, cut you off altogether.

Yeah, clients come and go during even the most financially prosperous of times. But in a year when work is harder to come by and the competition stiffer, each little setback can feel like a full-on body blow.

Last week, the Associated Press reported that an Illinois man pocketed more than $470,000 in paychecks from a company he never worked for over the course of four-and-a-half years.

That got me wondering: If a freelance client overpaid you this year, what would you do? Before you say, “Return the money, of course,” really think about it. What if you were about to default on your mortgage? Would you still give the money back?

In an older post, I talked about how years ago a client paid me twice the amount I’d invoiced for. I knew it wasn’t a bonus; it was clear the company had made a mistake. And while I desperately needed money then, I couldn’t get behind lying and keeping the cash. (Admittedly, it wasn’t just integrity at the wheel. Fear of being found out and losing my most lucrative gig helped drive home the decision to refund the money.)

The client in question was an independent book publisher, and the overpayment was just by $1,000 or so. But if a deep-pocketed Fortune 500 overpaid me a piddly amount, I’d return the money just the same. 

For freelancers, reputation is everything. You might be able to recover from a botched deadline (just ask my editors). But recovery from blatant disregard for business ethics? Doubtful.

What do you think? Have you ever had to return a stray payment to a client who made an accounting mistake? Or do you fall in the ”Pocket it and play dumb if they call you on it” camp? (No judgment; just curious.)

Related assignments I did on the topic this year:

• “Recession ethics: Has the definition of honesty changed?” [NWjobs, November 1, 2009]
• “Are you a scammer? Cheating on corporate expense reports” [ABC News, February 19, 2009]
• “Stealing a slice of the company pie: A weak economy can mean more employee theft” [ABC News, January 22, 2009]

8 comments November 2nd, 2009