This RFC has been drafted collaboratively by WorkDAO and Giveth team members. It seeks to gain consensus around forming an agreement between WorkDAO and Giveth. The agreement would allow WorkDAO to offer Giveth employment and compensation services for contributors and Giveth to engage and compensate contributors through WorkDAO.
Note that voting in favor of this proposal, and subject to its passing, will allow contributors to voluntarily opt in to WorkDAO services. It is an optional service that contributors can choose to but do not have to use.
About WorkDAO
WorkDAO is a web3-native employment, payroll, benefits and tax provider. WorkDAO’s primary features are:
- Global tax and labor law compliance;
- Tax-efficient token and fiat payroll;
- Full support for any and all employment/contracting structures, including entity-less DAOs, stand-alone contractors, grant/bounty-based work, etc.;
- Improve contributor experience, including access to benefits, immigration & visa support, employment verification, overseen by designated Contributor Experience Lead.
More information on WorkDAO can be found in WorkDAO’s Whitepaper.
Motivation
Giveth is a DAO with no legal entity and Giveth contributors are currently being compensated directly from the DAO. Giveth looks to find alternate ways for current and future contributors to be compensated in a way that is compliant with their local regulations.
Giveth’s proposal is to utilize a third-party service provider (WorkDAO) that acts as a blockchain-to-real-world bridge between Giveth to specific country/state/jurisdiction.
To attract and maintain high-quality contributors as Giveth grows, and the need of ensuring contributors in any jurisdiction get to be compensated in a compliant way, have access to statutory benefits and health insurance, get visas and income verification, etc. has led Giveth team to look into a full-service employment, compensation and tax solutions provided by WorkDAO.
Proposal
The following sections outline the case and scope for WorkDAO to provide ongoing compliance with employment laws, regulatory and classification guidelines, tax regulations, and HR practices in each relevant jurisdiction where Giveth has contributors. It also outlines the implementation framework.
WorkDAO provides the following services:
- Web3 Payroll - A global payroll and income tax solution for clients who pay workers (employees or contractors) for work performed using tokens (and/or fiat).
- Web3 Employment - Global Employer of Record (EoR) services with localized employment contracts and statutory benefits.
- Web3 Token grants.
Giveth Contributors’ Work Arrangements and Compensation Review
In the first phase, WorkDAO performs a review of contracts, policies, practices, and systems related to the hiring and compensation of Giveth contributors. The review will allow Giveth team to understand the critical weaknesses and liabilities associated with Giveth’s current level of compliance with employment laws, regulatory and classification guidelines, tax regulations, and HR practices (including recordkeeping and data protection) in each relevant jurisdiction.
The audit also serves as an Employment Know Your Customer (“EKYC”) check-in for WorkDAO to better understand and assess the current contributor pool of Giveth, and the individual needs each contributor might have.
The scope of WorkDAO’s review involves:
- Legal analysis of current employment documentation and contributor engagement processes;
- Tax and compliance analysis of current workers and contributors, and associated compensation structures and processes, including token vesting smart contract audit (if applicable);
- Regulatory and classification risk analysis;
- HR practices and systems analysis, including record keeping and data privacy;
- Immigration and contributor legal status verification.
During the review, WorkDAO’s legal, HR, and tax experts gather information on the infrastructure, agreements, systems, policies, and practices related to hiring and engaging Giveth contributors. WorkDAO speaks with contributors to help them understand WorkDAO’s role as an employer or contractors management provider, and helps address individual concerns, prior to formal onboarding. All reviews will be conducted under strict confidentiality.
Ongoing Employment, Compensation and Tax Compliance
In the second phase, WorkDAO onboards contributors and rolls out the full scope of its bundled service that addresses problems associated with issues related to employment for Giveth.
The following highlights the high-level responsibilities of WorkDAO:
- Employer-of-record services;
- Associated HR-of-record services;
- Payroll (token and/or fiat);
- Compliant payment of statutory taxes (on token and/or fiat payroll)
Implementation Framework
For Giveth, Implementation Facilitators will be Heather and Freshelle. These Implementation Facilitators will facilitate creation of contributor agreements with WorkDAO. Any changes to Implementation Facilitators will be communicated to WorkDAO.
All communications during onboarding and post-onboarding will happen via email.
Payments to WorkDAO due from Giveth will be paid from the wallet address ending with 0xe06…d122e. Payments to WorkDAO will be accepted in DAI on Mainnet.
As part of onboarding, individual contributors will share the information required for WorkDAO’s performing the agreed services, including the wallet address to be used for receiving compensation. Any changes to the designated wallet address will be communicated by a contributor to Freshelle and WorkDAO.
Giveth Subsidy
Giveth will provide a 15% subsidy of WorkDAO fees for the contributor who would like to utilize WorkDAO’s services. The subsidy applies to fees on employment setup (15% * $599 = $89.85 per contributor per month) and on independent contractor setup (15% * $99 = $14.85 per contributor per month). The remaining 85% of WorkDAO fees is to be paid by the contributor.
Pros
- Provides a solution for compensating contributors in a large number of jurisdictions;
- Allows Giveth to offer a choice to current and future contributors around their preferred compensation method;
- Allows contributors to have the choice of being a full time employee with locally documented employment and compensation, statutory benefits and tax support;
- Gives optionality to provide immigration & visa support, ensure employment verification for mortgages, loans, leases, etc. for contributors that might need it;
- Helps with contributor retention and makes Giveth more attractive to potential future contributors;
- Helps streamline currently scattered and partial solutions, and relationships with multiple services providers that do not always understand the nuances of web3 or that cannot work with entity-less organizations;
- Reduces the admin burden on Giveth to build the required, in-depth knowledge around labor and compensation considerations in every country where it hires contributors.
Cons
- Not feasible for anons as verification is necessary for contributors looking to enter a full time employment agreement;
- Additional cost compared to compensating directly from the DAO, but in many cases this would be offset by reductions in current costs paid to service provider companies.
Next Steps
It is suggested that the community comment on this partnership proposal over the coming days, and bearing no significant opposition or change in specification, it would be moved ahead through Snapshot vote. Giveth contributors are encouraged to provide as much feedback as possible, so we can create the best possible outcome for all stakeholders.
Appendix: Specifications
1. Services
WorkDAO will engage contributors designated by Giveth as employees or independent contractors.
The employment of each contributor will become part of the agreement described in this governance proposal and will be implemented at the discretion of the Implementation Facilitators within Giveth.
Subject to WorkDAO’s audit and approval, WorkDAO will also help facilitate token, stablecoin and/or fiat payroll for independent contractors designated by Giveth or any subDAOs within Giveth.
WorkDAO’s engagement of designated contributors is subject to customary compliance provisions and applicable local laws.
Giveth may request WorkDAO to remove a contributor from providing service with at least thirty (30) days’ advance written notice, subject to customary processes and pre-agreed fees.
For Giveth contributors who enroll in employment services, WorkDAO will act as the employer of contributors engaged as employees and satisfy all requirements under the applicable local law, including but not limited to being responsible for any and all employment-related requirements for contributors, including in respect of wages and hours, payroll administration, documentation and record keeping, labor relations and collective bargaining, insurance coverage, and making appropriate tax withholdings, and other customary services and functions.
- Fees & Payment Terms
Giveth contributor is responsible to pay WorkDAO the fees, less 15% subsidy paid by Giveth directly, specified in the individual contributor engagement form that covers individual contributor compensation as agreed between Giveth and WorkDAO, local employer contributions for contributors engaged as employees and WorkDAO fees.
Subject to Giveth’s subsidy, the contributor is responsible for 85% of the WorkDAO fee. The remaining 15% of WorkDAO fee is to be paid by Giveth to WorkDAO directly.
Subject to customary provisions, Giveth contributor engaged as an employee is responsible for paying WorkDAO an initial deposit equivalent to two months’ payroll. Initial deposit does not apply to contributors engaged as independent contractors.
For contributors engaged as employees, WorkDAO charges a fee for its ongoing employment, compensation, and tax support to Giveth equal to $599 per contract per month on top of contributor compensation and local employer contributions.
For services provided for contributors engaged as independent contractors and compensated in fiat, stablecoins and/or tokens, WorkDAO charges a fee equal to $99 per contract per month, on top of the contractor’s payment.
In specific cases WorkDAO might be able to provide visa sponsorship for contributors onboarded as employees. WorkDAO ability to provide visa sponsorship is considered on a case by case basis and might be limited to specific jurisdictions. It is provided at the additional cost which must be covered in full by the contributor.
WorkDAO will invoice Giveth monthly at the beginning of the month for services to be provided during that month’s period. Giveth will pay invoices within seven (7) days from the invoice date and payments of tokens will be due and payable within five (5) days from the invoice date.
- Work Product and Intellectual Property
Any products, patents, or other intellectual property created, modified, or attributable to a contributor of Giveth during the process of that contributor’s work under this proposal shall be immediately transferred and assigned to Giveth to the extent permissible by law.
- Confidential Information
The agreement between WorkDAO and Giveth, and WorkDAO and the contributor might include confidential and private and personal information, and therefore all parties agree to customary confidentiality protections.
In connection with the Services that WorkDAO provides to Giveth, WorkDAO and the contributors may have access to sensitive, confidential business, financial, and other proprietary information. WorkDAO agrees (and will require each contributor to agree) to keep all such Giveth information confidential unless Giveth provides written consent.
- Representations and Warranties
A successful vote on this governance proposal by Giveth token holders is seen as an execution of the agreement between Giveth and WorkDAO, allows WorkDAO to engage with Giveth contributors, and obligation to fulfill associated terms and conditions of this agreement, subject to customary warranties.
- Term and Termination
The agreement between Giveth and WorkDAO becomes effective starting from the day of the resolution of the vote and shall continue for a period of 1 year with an option to renew via a governance proposal.
- Yes, let’s allow Giveth contributors to voluntarily opt-in to utilize WorkDAO’s HR services.
- No, let’s not allow Giveth contributors to voluntarily opt-in to utilize WorkDAO’s HR services.
- I have questions, let’s debate in the forum below.
0 voters