Trust & safety for professionals
For: Professionals
As a professional, you work on Sunworker as a self-employed person, and the money for your shift is already held in escrow before it starts.
At a glance
- You stay self-employed: You set your hourly rate and decide on every request yourself.
- Your money is secured: A shift is only formed once the amount has been collected. Until the payout, it is held in escrow.
- You know who you are working for: Before every acceptance, you can see the venue's rating and reliability.
You decide for yourself
You alone set your hourly rate. You accept or decline requests, decide when you are available and can work for as many clients as you like – including outside Sunworker. Sunworker gives you no instructions on the time, place or manner of your work.
Declining a request before accepting it is not a cancellation: it costs nothing and does not count against your level. A request you leave unanswered doesn't harm your level or your place in search either.
Important: You don't have to follow instructions that go beyond what was agreed. Raise it calmly with the venue, decline requests that amount to a fixed rota, and report anything that isn't right. Self-employed, not agency work
Your credentials
Your account is approved as soon as four required documents have been verified:
- Vocational training or retraining – vocational training as a chef or in restaurant service also counts
- HACCP training
- Trade licence
- Identity – Stripe checks your identity when you set up your payout account.
Vocational training, HACCP training and trade licence are checked by hand: for completeness, legibility and period of validity, not for your professional skills. Your documents are never public. Your profile only shows which credentials you have and until when they are valid.
When a credential expires, your profile shows it as “expired”. You then no longer appear in searches that require it and can't be requested for shifts that need it; Sunworker reminds you beforehand. A new document is checked again. More on this: Credentials and expiry dates and Uploading credentials.
Important: For shifts involving food, you also need a verified, valid food hygiene certificate. Without it, you can't accept such shifts.
Your money
- A shift is only formed once the client has confirmed and the amount has been collected.
- Until the payout, the amount is held in escrow. During that time it belongs neither to the client nor to you.
- Billing is to the minute, based on the confirmed actual time. If you work longer, you enter the actual time; the additional amount is charged.
- If the client doesn't respond to your submitted hours within 48 hours, they count as confirmed.
- The payout follows a clearing period of 72 hours from completion, as soon as the invoice for the shift is available – the same on every level.
- If the client cancels at short notice after confirming, you may be entitled to cancellation compensation, depending on the timing. Their cancellations do not count against your level.
Without an approved payout account, you can be requested but can't accept. That way, no shift is formed that can't be paid. Sunworker does not store your IBAN, only the last four digits and the name of the bank.
The commission is deducted from the payout; the amount is shown under Pricing. How escrow and payout work in detail is explained in Escrow and secure payment and When will I get my money?.
Reviews in both directions
After a completed shift with a venue, you review each other – you review the venue, the venue reviews you. Reviews are blind: both become visible only once both have been submitted or the 14-day period has ended.
A venue's rating is public. Before every acceptance, you can also see how reliable it is: confirmation rate, cancellations and no-shows over the last 90 days.
A review is never hidden just because it is negative. If it states something untrue or the shift didn't take place as described, you can have it checked. You can reply publicly once. Fair reviews
Protection against payments outside the platform
Phone numbers, email addresses, links and other contact details are hidden in the chat before delivery. You only get the other side's contact details once you have a confirmed shift together. What counts is what the shift says, not what the chat says.
Warning: Escrow, invoice and review only exist for a shift booked through Sunworker. If you are asked to keep working outside the platform or to be paid around it, that breaks the rules, and you can report it.
You are free to offer your services anywhere. Only with a venue you met through Sunworker do you not arrange shifts around the platform for up to 12 months after the last contact. Contact and payment outside the platform
All topics for you
The principles are set out in How Sunworker builds trust. These articles answer individual questions:
Before you start
- Which rules apply to everyone? Ground rules for everyone
- Which credentials do I need, and when do they expire? Credentials and expiry dates
- How can I tell a shift stays self-employed? Self-employed, not agency work
- How do I protect my account? Protecting your account and sign-in
- Who can see what about me? Privacy at a glance
Around the shift
- How is my time recorded? Check-in, check-out and billing by actual time
- When and how do I get my money? Escrow and secure payment
- What applies if a shift is cancelled? Cancellations and no-shows
- How do we treat each other on site? Respect during a shift
- What should I look out for on site? Staying safe on site
- How do reviews work? Fair reviews
- Why does everything stay on Sunworker? Contact and payment outside the platform
If something goes wrong
- The venue disputes your hours? You can accept their proposal, resubmit or open a dispute. Resolving disputes
- Someone isn't following the rules? Reporting violations – and what happens next
- Is your account suspended or limited? Account suspension and complaints
- Immediate danger? Call the police or emergency services first. A report to Sunworker does not replace an emergency call.
If you can't find an answer, write to kontakt@sunworker.eu – for a shift, ideally with the date and the venue.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to accept every request?
No. You decide on every request yourself. Declining costs nothing and does not count against your level.
Who sets my hourly rate?
You alone. A client may not dictate your hourly rate or renegotiate it in the chat.
Why can't I accept a request?
You can only accept once your account is approved, your invoicing details are complete, your payout account is active and “Bookings on” is switched on – and, for shifts involving food, with a valid food hygiene certificate. Why can't I accept?
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