Thank you Siko for answering.
That's a mix of "curiosity" (for the benefits, pensions and so on) and
of "concern" (on the responsibility side of things).
Wikimedia France received several legal complaints in the past few years
and the frequency is increasing. The inventivity and the boldness of
lawyers is also getting stronger in trying to prove that the chapter is
legally responsible for what happen on the French speaking Wikipedia. We
also had to deal with a volunteer contributor who was taken to court for
a very regular wiki activity (thank god, ended well). In short, we can
not pretend there is no "legal" risk.
Aside from this, professionnally speaking, I am a freelancer. I pay
roughly 1000 euros every year in various insurance to cover my activity.
Covering any wrong recommandation I may give my clients. Covering any
material disaster I might create in their office (such as leaking coffee
on one of their laptop... or worse). Covering legal support for me in
case I am brought to court.
If I did not pay for such insurance, I would be 100% responsible on my
own revenue and property (my house and so on).
If I were on staff in a company, the company would cover this (to a
certain extent of course).
So I am being curious about the status of the fellows. If they do
anything illegal (voluntarily or not) and are taken to court... are they
on their own ? (hopefully WMF would help them pay the fees). Or would it
be WMF considered responsible as their "employer" ?
Florence
On 5/21/12 8:09 PM, Richard Symonds wrote:
I must admit to being curious, as do at least two others i've spoken to
about this. With no benefits and no pensions, and what seems like hazy
employment rights that vary from state to state (not to mention fellows
from overseas) and person to person, this does seem a little odd. How much
notice are they given, and what support they are entitled to from the WMF,
would be very helpful.
I'd appreciate a more technical explanation so I can understand how the
WMF deals with people on these short term contracts. :-)
Richard Symonds
On May 21, 2012 6:35 PM, "Siko Bouterse"<sboute...@wikimedia.org> wrote:
Hi Florence,
I guess I didn't do a very good job addressing these questions in the
earlier thread, so I'll try one more time :-)
Fellowships are temporary roles, so they are not treated as full time staff
positions. They do not receive retirement benefits, and generally the
paperwork setup and associated benefits is not like staff, its more like
contractor, though again the specifics will vary according to fellowship
location, duration, and what US regulation dictates based on these
variables. I am happily ignorant of the liability/insurance side of
things, so perhaps someone from the LCA team can address this if needed.
Is there a particular issue that makes you ask about this, or just
generally curious?
Best wishes,
Siko
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 23:29:51 +0200
From: Florence Devouard<anthe...@yahoo.com>
To: wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Announcing 2
Community Fellows
Message-ID:<jpbnof$8vl$2...@dough.gmane.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
I can not help (I am optimistic with lot's of faith :))
Does the fellowship status implies that the WMF pays for health or
retirement benefits (as it would for a staff member) or does the fellow
receive a lump sum and manages by himself to pay for taxes and benefits
depending on the country he lives in (as would a contractor) ?
Does the fellowship status implies that, should the fellow get in
trouble, he would be considered "staff" (in terms of liability) or is he
on his own ? (which in my terms would be "if as staff", he is covered by
WMF insurance versus "if as contractor", he has to pay insurance by
himself).
Florence
--
Siko Bouterse
Head of Community Fellowships
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
sboute...@wikimedia.org
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