Crowdsourcing Code of Conduct - Ombuds Office

If you think you have been treated unfairly on one of the platforms that have signed the Crowdsourcing Code of Conduct, you can submit a complaint to the Ombuds Office. The Ombuds Office is a mediator between crowdsourcing platforms and crowdworkers. The members of the Ombuds Office seek to find fair solutions to disagreements by consensus.For the Ombuds Office to consider a case, the following conditions must be met:

  1. The platform in question must have signed the Crowdsourcing Code of Conduct.
  2. You have a concrete complaint, for example about money or procedures on the platform.
  3. You have already tried to discuss the matter directly with the platform; however, this has not led to a solution.

Please briefly describe your complaint using the form below. (Please observe any non-disclosure agreements to which you may have agreed, for example with respect to project data.) This information will be sent to the administration of the Ombuds Office, which is operated by the German trade union IG Metall. The information will be kept confidential and will only be used to mediate the case.

 

The complete rules of the Ombuds Office are available here.

 

Annual Reports of the Ombuds Office: 2017 & 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.

 

The fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required.

What claim are you making?*
Against whom is the claim made?*
In the case of a payment claim, this includes the following information:
Were there any specific requirements to gain access to the project?
Were these requirements met by you?
Were you able to perform the task properly?
Have you already tried to address the problem by contacting the platform operator?*
I give the Ombuds Office permission to forward my information to the relevant platform for the purposes of resolving the dispute.*
How did you find out about the Ombuds Office?*

Your submissions to the Ombudsman's Office will be forwarded to the platform with a - usually - two-week deadline for response. In turn, we will forward you the response of the platform. You will be given the opportunity to respond within two weeks.

The members of the ombudsman's office work on an honorary basis. Their consultations usually take place once a month.

 

 

Privacy / data protection policy

Data submitted through this form will only be used to mediate disputes between parties to the Crowdsourcing Code of Conduct. The data will be sent over an encrypted connection and saved on a server operated in Germany under contract for the German trade union IG Metall. The data will not be shared with any external parties for any commercial or noncommercial purpose.

 

Additional legal information (in German): Data protection / GDPR