Whether due to an emergency or a planned break, freelancers and clients on Upwork can prepare for absences by communicating with work partners, updating payment and contact information, managing job visibility or postings, and adjusting account settings to ensure continuity and minimize disruptions.
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Life happens — whether it’s an emergency, illness, natural disaster, or a planned break, sometimes you need to step away from work. When that happens, it’s helpful to take a few quick steps to manage your Upwork presence and maintain good communication with your work partners.
Even if it’s short notice, a little planning goes a long way toward protecting your reputation and setting yourself (and others) up for a smooth return.
How do I plan for absences as a freelancer?
- Check in with your clients. Let them know what’s going on and what to expect. You can agree together whether to pause the contract or close it for now
- Review how you get paid. Make sure you’ll still have access to your primary payment method. If needed, add a backup method so any payments owed to you don’t get delayed and review your payment schedule
- Make sure your address and contact info is up-to-date. If you’ll be traveling or staying somewhere else during, add that address to your Upwork account settings and update your phone number and email address, if needed
- Check your profile visibility settings. If you're stepping away for awhile, consider setting your profile to private and/or adding a short note to the top of your profile. For example: “Currently unavailable due to an emergency. I hope to return to soon.” You may also want to update your "Hours per week" availability. You can make both changes from your profile settings here
How do I plan for absences as a client?
- Reach out to the talent you are working with. Let them know you'll be away and discuss whether to pause or end the contract
- Review your billing method. Make sure your billing info is current so any scheduled payments go through without issue. It’s also smart to add a backup payment method just in case
- Close open job posts. If you’ve posted jobs but haven’t hired anyone yet, consider closing them for now. This helps freelancers avoid spending time and Connects on a job that isn’t active. You can always repost the job when you’re back
- Update your contact info. If you’ll be somewhere else during your time away from Upwork, be sure to add that address in your Account settings and update your phone number and email too, if needed
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