Technical Writers Code of Professional Practice

Preamble

As professionals in the communications arts we know that people work better if they have clear expectations of equitable treatment. In order to promote fair standards and encourage professional working relationships, the Technical Writers Trade Group of the National Writers Union presents the following Code of Professional Practice for technical writers in the hardware and software industries.

Non-Discrimination

Jobs, promotions, and pay shall be decided on the basis of merit with equal opportunity for all, and no writer shall be discriminated against on account of age, disability, gender, ideology, national origin, race, religion, or sexual orientation.

Responsibilities of the Writer

Technical writers have a variety of responsibilities in the documentation process. They generally include:

Effective documentation. Writers should create documentation that is complete, accurate, and accessible to the user in style and presentation. Writers should obtain all available information and convey it to the target audience accurately and in an effective manner as defined by the audience and the medium.

Contribution to testing. The process of documentation is often also a process of product testing and quality control. Where this is the case, writers should be diligent in observing and reporting problems and weaknesses that may affect the user.

Confidentiality. Writers often work with confidential material. Writers should scrupulously observe requests from the client regarding confidentiality and disclose any ongoing relations with potential competitors.

Timeliness. Creating product documentation usually has milestone tasks and periodic reporting. Writers should demonstrate progress or report regularly, and should meet deadlines or give adequate notice if that is not possible.

Communication. Writers should be open to suggestions, and should keep the employer informed of difficulties. Writers should initiate discussions when they see that one side or the other lacks information.

Wrapping up work. Documents are often part of a series that may be continued by other hands. At the end of a project, writers should make note of editorial suggestions, production procedures, and formatting specifications that have been developed. They should submit suggestions for future work and summarize the task.

Employer Responsibilities

A Professional Work Environment. When writers are working at the employers site, an established and stable work area in reasonable proximity to primary sources of information is essential. To do a professional job, a writer needs a defined work space with a computer workstation, telephone, e-mail, an adequate printer, and access to copying facilities. When necessary for efficient completion of the work, writers should be granted access to the employer's internal networks and intranets.

Access to Information Sources. Quality documentation cannot be created without sufficient access to primary sources of information (people, hardware, software, specifications, schematics, data, and so forth as circumstances require).

Realistic Schedules. Quality documentation requires that the writing schedule be integrated with the engineering and marketing schedules. While writers can begin work from specifications and protoypes, the documentation cannot be completed until after all features, interfaces, and options are finally decided on and implemented enough for writers to see how they work. This requires that writers' milestones and deliverables be based on, and coordinated with, those of the engineers. Developers must also be given time in their schedules for documentation review, and writers must have time to enter engineering revisions. Adequate time must also be built into the overall product schedule for printing, and if necessary, translation.

Location. In many situations it is more efficient and effective for writers to work on part or all of a task at their own premises, free from distractions. Employers should support this practice. Contractors should be free to work off-site at their discretion.

Adequate Equipment. If the employer wants text or graphics delivered in a certain form or format and a writer lacks the equipment to create that medium, the employer must provide convenient access to such equipment.

Communication. The employer should inform and consult with writers in a timely manner regarding schedules, milestones, and deadlines. The employer should be open to suggestions, and should keep writers informed of difficulties. The employer should initiate discussions after discovering that a writer lacks information or that a problem exists with the documentation.

Timely Reviews and Change Notice. Technical writers are dependent on timely reviews of their work by engineers, managers, and editors. Employers need to ensure that documentation review is included in reviewers' schedules and that reviews are returned to writers on time. Managers need to make sure that writers are informed of necessary documentation changes far enough in advance of deadlines for them to make the necessary modifications.

Ownership of Rights

Publishing. When a writer's work product is intended for print or electronic publication and/or sale as an independent item, and does not describe software or hardware sold or used by the employer, ownership of copyright is determined by copyright law and the contracts signed between writer and employer.

Employee work product. The copyrights for material created by salaried (W2) employees belong to the employer.

Contractor work product. Copyright law requires that all transfer of copyrights be accomplished through a written contract signed by both parties. Ownership of copyrights to material created by contract writers (paid either by the job or milestone, or on an hourly or daily basis), is determined by the contract as follows:

The contract can contain a clause stating that the writer will assign all copyrights to the employer after all monies owed to the writer have been paid.
The contract can state that the job is done on a basis of work-made-for-hire. In this case the copyright belongs to the employer. (Note that in California, and other states with similar legislation, the employer may be required by law to enroll writers working under work-for-hire contracts in unemployment, disability, and workman's compensation programs.)
If the contract does not state that the work is made for hire or that the writer assigns the copyright to the employer, then all copyrights belong to the writer.

Bylines

It is through bylines that writers gain public recognition for their efforts, and the knowledge that their work will carry their names and reputations encourages them to produce their best work. Thus, the authors of a substantial piece of work (10 pages or longer) should get appropriate identification if they so desire. Where more than three writers are involved, either the supervising editor(s) should be credited, or credit should be otherwise allocated by agreement of those involved. Where an earlier draft or version is edited or revised by someone else, the authors of both versions should get appropriate credit.

Portfolio Copies

Writers are entitled to a minimum of two gratis copies of the document for portfolio purposes. Portfolio copies are examples of the author's work only and are not to be reproduced for sale or distribution. Writers are also entitled to display samples of their written, electronic, or web work on their personal web sites for evaluation by prospective clients so long as the displayed material does not violate confidentiality.

Payment, Expenses, and Retainers

Full payment. As required by law, employers will pay for all work performed except on fixed-bid contracts.

Payment on time. Where writers submit invoices for work completed or hours worked, they should receive payment within no more than 30 days.

Overtime. When salaried staff writers (W2 employees) have to work longer that a normal 40-hour work week or 8 hour day, they should be compensated with overtime pay or compensatory time off.

Expense Reimbursement. Contract writers who lay out their own money for extraordinary or non-routine expenses approved by the employer shall include the relevant receipts with their next invoice and should get complete reimbursement within 30 days.

Retainers. It sometimes happens that after a client requests the services of a contract writer the project is delayed and the employer asks writers to remain available until it begins. This means that the writer is forced either to remain idle and turn down other work or resign from the project. A writer sometimes waits for a project to start, and the project is ultimately canceled. Thus, when an employer asks a writer to remain available until work begins, the employer should pay a retainer to insure the writer does not commit to a competing project. This retainer should be paid weekly. In the case of a writer billing on a periodic basis, it should be 50% of whatever weekly income writers will receive when the project starts. Where it is a contract for a lump sum, it should be 50% of the lump sum divided by the scheduled duration of the project in weeks. In either case, the retainer payments are in addition to payments for the project itself.

Termination

When salaried employees or contract writers are laid off or terminated for reasons other than "just cause," they should be given at least two week's notice or equivalent pay. For their part, writers are obliged to give at least two weeks notice before leaving a job. When a writer leaves a job for whatever reason, the employer must pay all monies owed.

Agents, Brokers, and Others

Sometimes third-parties arrange for writers to work with employers. The following sections define terms and suggest responsibilities and pay rates for the various services.

Agents. (An "agent" is not the same as an "agency.") An agent is a person who finds a contract or temporary job for a writer and perhaps negotiates the contract. The writer works for the employer. Payment is handled in one of two ways: 1) The writer bills the employer who pays the writer directly, and the writer pays the agent's fee. 2) The agent bills the employer on the writer's behalf; the employer pays the agent, who deducts a fee and then passes the remainder on to the writer. A reasonable fee for an agent's effort in marketing and negotiation is no more than 10-15% of the total billed to that employer.

Brokers. (Also known as "agencies.") A broker finds contract work for writers. When the broker learns of a contract or temporary job opening, the broker submits writers' résumés to the employer. In most cases, the writer must pass the employer's interview and screening process in competition with other writers. When a broker's writer is chosen by the employer, the employer contracts with the broker for the writer's services. The writer works directly with the employer and must meet the employer's requirements, but the writer is technically an employee (W2 or 1099) of the broker. The writer bills the broker either by milestone or hour, and the broker then bills the employer at a higher rate for the writer's services. In many cases, the broker agrees to pay the writer's invoices before the broker receives payment from the employer.

While some brokers maintain that the amount of their markup is of no concern to the writer, employers have budget constraints that force them to look at the total amount they are paying for the writer's services. As a result, an excessive markup on the part of the broker means a lower pay rate for the writer. Reasonable markups for brokers who pay the writer in advance of payment by the employer are:

15-20% when the writer is paid as a 1099 contractor.
20-25% when the writer is paid as a W2 employee.

In some cases, brokers also provide limited benefits to the writer, such as pension contributions. In such instances, small additional markups proportional to the actual cost of the benefits are justifiable.

Many brokers insist that writers sign contracts containing clauses that prevent the writer from directly contracting with or being employed by the employer for some period after the current contract or job ends. In other cases, the broker's contract with the employer stipulates that the employer must pay the broker a fee if the employer hires the writer directly. In our view, such clauses unfairly and illegally restrain the writer's freedom of trade and association and are not legally enforceable.

Payroll Service Agencies. Sometimes a writer makes a direct connection with an employer who offers the writer a contract or temporary job without the intervention or involvement of a broker or agency. But the employer requires that the writer actually be a W2 employee or 1099 contractor to a third party. These third parties are known as payroll service agencies.

When a writer is employed by a payroll service agency, the work and billing is performed the same as with a broker. However, because the payroll service agency plays no role in finding the job for the writer, their markup should be less than that of a broker as described above. Reasonable markups for agencies who pay the writer in advance of payment by the employer are:

$5.00/hour or 7.5%, whichever is larger, when the writer is paid as a 1099 contractor.
18-20% when the writer is paid as a W-2 employee.

As with brokers, payroll service agencies that provide benefits to the writer are justified in small additional markups proportional to the actual cost of the benefits.

When an employer requires that a contractor or temporary employee be paid through a payroll service agency, it should be the right of the writer to select which payroll agency to use. It is an unfair restraint of free trade for an employer both to require that a writer be paid by a third party and to restrict the free choice of the writer to one especially favored agency. Without competition between agencies for the business of both employers and writers, the agencies have no economic incentive to concern themselves with meeting the needs of the writers.

Recruiters. Recruiters find employees or contractors for an employer. There is a wide variety in the way recruiters are used by employers, but from the writer's perspective the recruiter's business relationship with the employer does not matter. If a recruiter fills a W-2 employment position for the employer, the employer pays the recruiter's fee and the writer is not affected. If the recruiter fills a contract or temporary position for the employer, the writer will either contract directly with the employer or work through a broker or payroll service agency as described above.

Contractors. A contractor contracts with an employer to provide writing services and then subcontracts part or all of the work to another writer or writers. Unlike a broker, a contractor remains primarily responsible for producing a satisfactory product, and he or she is actively involved in meeting with the customer, commenting on content, supervising, and in some cases, training the subcontracting writer.

A reasonable fee to a contractor for his or her financial risk, supervisory activities, and effort in marketing and negotiation is no more than 15-40% of the total billed to that employer for writers' services depending on the circumstances. In general, the less involved the contractor is involved in the actual work, the lower the contractor's share; the more involved the contractor is in supervising or training the subcontractor or contributing to the actual work, the higher the contractor's share of the money paid for the subcontractor's work.

Documentation Houses. A documentation house is a company that hires writers as regular or temporary W2 employees and then contracts with employers to perform writing assignments. In this case, the salaries and other benefits to writers should be in line with prevailing industry standards for staff writers.