MSE-78 · Freelancers, contractors, consultants and other external talent
Talent and freelancer guide
Joining the talent network, your profile, availability and rates, being matched, starting an assignment, the shared workspace, timesheets, getting paid and ending an engagement well.
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Today | Done now, outside the platform, by agreement and record |
| At launch | Planned for the platform's first public release |
| Planned | Planned for the release that opens courses, payments and timesheets |
| Later | Planned for a later release, with the full talent portal |
1. About this guide
| Engagement | What it is |
|---|---|
| Freelance or contract | A defined piece of work, paid by the hour, day, project or retainer |
| Consulting assignment | Specialist advice on a client project or a venture |
| Mentorship | Sessions with learners or founders, under a mentorship programme |
| Advisory | A continuing advisory relationship with a venture |
2. Joining the network
You can express interest today. Your application is recorded with your consent and read by a person.
- Step 1: Application
- Step 2: Consent recorded
- Step 3: Initial review
- Step 4: Added to the network
- Step 5: Profile built
- Step 6: Matched when work fits
Include your skills and level in each, examples of work, the kinds of engagement you want, availability, preferred rates and currency, languages and time zone. Do not send identity documents, bank details or other sensitive information at this stage.
If you are not selected for one piece of work, you remain in the network with your consent and can withdraw at any time.
TFG-D-01. No fee, deposit or purchase is ever required to join the talent network, to be considered for an engagement or to start one. The ecosystem never asks for a payment or your bank login to apply, and never offers work through an unknown personal messaging account; report any such request.
3. Your profile, availability and rates
The talent profile is planned for a later release. Each skill carries a confidence rating: self-reported, verified, strong evidence or expert verified. You are never reduced to one number, and community activity is never turned into a hidden score.
Availability states: available, partially available, assigned, unavailable, on leave and notice period. Pay is hourly, daily, project-based or retainer, set in each agreement.
TFG-D-02. Every rate and payment basis is agreed in writing before work starts, and every change applies from a stated date. No rate is changed retrospectively.
4. Being matched and selected
Matching and selection never infer or use sensitive characteristics such as religion, ethnicity, health or family status. Interviews use a structured scorecard and are recorded only with your consent.
- Step 1: Shortlist
- Step 2: Interview
- Step 3: Decision
- Step 4: Agreement
- Step 5: Onboarding
TFG-D-03. An unpaid selection exercise is limited to what is needed to assess the skill, is stated in advance, and is never used in delivered work.
5. Starting an assignment
- Step 1: Agreement and IP deed signed
- Step 2: Screening complete
- Step 3: Required training recorded
- Step 4: Individual access granted
| Point | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Ownership of deliverables | What you create for the engagement belongs to the company |
| Ownership does not depend on payment | If payment is disputed, your remedy is a claim for payment, not withholding the work |
| Background material | Tools you already own stay yours; you list them and license their use in the deliverables |
| Disclosure | You disclose any AI tools and third-party or open-source material used |
| Your own people | Each signs an agreement with you that passes their rights and binds them to confidentiality |
You receive your own individual account, never a shared one, limited to your engagement and set to expire on its end date.
6. Working in a shared workspace
| You can | You cannot |
|---|---|
| See and edit your own profile, skills and visibility | See other candidates' profiles, scores or rates |
| See the workspaces you are engaged on | Browse other projects, client records or finance data |
| Work on tasks assigned to you and comment on them | Approve your own timesheet or deliverables |
| Upload files to your tasks | Download or export beyond what your work needs |
| See your own payables and payment status | See the project budget, client price or margin |
TFG-D-04. External talent uses only the tools and storage the engagement provides or the agreement allows. Any AI tool used to produce a deliverable is disclosed, and no client or personal data is entered into a tool the agreement does not allow.
7. Time and timesheets
- Step 1: Time recorded against tasks
- Step 2: Submitted
- Step 3: Reviewed by project manager
- Step 4: Approved or returned with reason
- Step 5: Payable recorded
Time is billable, non-billable or internal. You can never approve your own timesheet.
TFG-D-05. A submitted timesheet is approved or returned with a written reason within [the period set in MSE-128]. Time beyond an agreed allowance is paid only where approved in advance in writing or the agreement provides for it.
8. Getting paid
- Step 1: Work approved
- Step 2: Payable recorded
- Step 3: Invoice or statement as agreed
- Step 4: Payment approved by finance
- Step 5: Paid to verified account
- Step 6: Payment confirmed
Changing your payment details requires verification. You are responsible for your own tax as an independent contractor unless the law of your market says otherwise; any withholding is shown on your payment record.
TFG-D-06. Every payment to external talent is made to verified details in the payee's own name, traceable to approved work, and confirmed to the payee in writing.
9. When an assignment ends
Access ends automatically on the engagement's end date. You return or securely delete confidential material and confirm that you have done so. Any disagreement about the final payment is a claim for payment and does not affect ownership of delivered work.
TFG-D-07. Every engagement rating is shared with the person rated, who may add a written response kept with it. A rating is never used as evidence on a profile without the person having seen it.
Your information is handled under the Privacy Policy. If you believe you have been treated unfairly, the concern is looked into by someone not involved in the decision.