Lark has told me that she tends to get the same questions over and over again about her company, so I thought it would be beneficial if I posted a sort of FAQ for Sunlark. Please know that these answers are only guaranteed to be true for Sunlark–things may be very different with Wolfgang or AMD. Having said that, here goes:
Do I get paid through your company?
Yes. We pay weekly by direct deposit into your checking account. We used to use PayPal, but the fees were higher, and people were having to wait longer for their money (since they usually had to transfer their money from PayPal to their checking account anyway.) I have found that, by paying my researchers as promptly as possible, their incentive to be consistent and loyal is greater.
Note from Hava: I can say I know this is true. I used to push myself to keep collecting rather than go home, because I knew if I did just a few more records, my paycheck would be bigger. Getting your money the next week was awesome, and something I wish more employers would do.
Is this Court researcher position year round or will I be unemployed sometimes?
The amount of work will vary according to season and market fluctuations, but the assignments are year round.
Will I be a life-time employee?
Right now, all our researchers are independent contractors instead of employees. Hava has assured me that she’ll be discussing the differences in a separate article. That said, most of the work we have involves permanent assignments. Also, once you are established with us, you will be given additional opportunities to accept assignments as they become available. While there are no guarantees in life, it’s our intent for our relationship to be as long and profitable for you as you choose.
I will be discussing IC vs employee status in a blog very soon.
I don’t have a tax id number, do I need one to be doing this kind of work?
The only tax ID number you need is your social security number.
Does your company have benefits?
At present, the greatest benefit we offer is the opportunity to work independently for a good rate of pay. Our intent is to gradually offer benefits options to our managers and those researchers who consistently turn in a high volume of records, creating the equivalent of full-time pay for themselves, regardless of actual number of hours worked. Many of our researchers work only a few hours per week, so the biggest benefit is to be able to earn well for the hours that are worked. Because we can’t offer benefits at this time, these jobs are usually best for those that have medical insurance through another source. Retired persons and those who have a spouse employed somewhere with good health benefits are in the best positions to take these assignments longterm.
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Thanks again to Lark for all the help she has given us in getting to know Sunlark Research better. I will hopefully have blogs up very soon that cover AMD Research in further detail–stay tuned for that!