1. Definitions

‘Interpreter’ shall mean the person who interprets spoken or signed communication into another language. ‘Speaker’ shall mean the person making the original spoken or signed communication.

‘Client’ shall mean the party or intermediary engaging the services of the Interpreter and having responsibility for his/her remuneration. ‘Assignment’ shall mean any period or set of consecutive periods of interpreting for one specific purpose or event. ‘Circumstances’ shall mean any circumstances resulting from any cause that are beyond the control of the Interpreter or the Client.

Services Provided

2.1 The services provided by the Interpreter shall comprise the interpreting services agreed in writing at the time when an assignment is accepted and/or those specified in these Terms and Conditions of Business. 2.2 They shall not, without express agreement confirmed in writing at the time, include any additional services.

Contracts

3.1 All assignments shall be confirmed by a written contract between the Client and the Interpreter, including these Terms of and Conditions and any variants explicitly agreed upon. 3.2 Where the Interpreter’s services have been contracted for in accordance with the means specified above, the Client shall be wholly liable for:

• remuneration for the Interpreter’s services, and
• reimbursement of any expenses incurred by the Interpreter in connection with the assignment, whether the interpreting services are, in fact, provided or not.

Teams

4.1 Where an assignment requires continuous interpreting for any period of more than one hour, a team of a minimum of two Interpreters shall be engaged to provide the interpreting service. 4.2 As an exception to the above, one Interpreter alone may be responsible for all the interpreting services in the assignment, if this is explicitly accepted by the Interpreter in writing. 4.3 Where three or more Interpreters are engaged for an assignment, one Interpreter shall be designated Team Leader. 4.4 The Team Leader shall be responsible for organising the work of the interpreting Team and all liaisons with the Client. Additional fees may be agreed in advance for this work. 4.5 No persons who are not members of the Team may be used as Interpreters to complement the Team

Working Hours

5.2 Interpreters shall be given a midday rest period of at least one hour. 5.3 If the Interpreter has agreed to work solo, he/she shall be given adequate opportunity for breaks, ideally 10 minutes every 25 to 30 minutes. 5.4 No demands shall be made on the skills of the Interpreter during rest periods or breaks. 5.5 If, in the course of an interpreting assignment, it is found that interpreting services will be required for an additional period after the period of work for which the Interpreter was initially contracted, the Interpreter may be invited, but not compelled, to:

• continue for a further agreed period on that same day, • continue for a further agreed period on subsequent days.

5.6 If the Interpreter consents to the above, additional fees shall be paid in accordance with Clause 7.3. 5.7 If interpreting services are required for a continuous period of more than 8 hours, a second Team shall be organised, and the work shall be shared equally between the two teams.

Quotations for Fees

6.1 Fees quoted by an Interpreter, or on behalf of a team of Interpreters, in full knowledge of the contents and conditions of an assignment, shall be considered contractually binding and valid for acceptance for three months only. 6.2 Quotations shall be confirmed in writing, and any applicable VAT, in addition to the fees, it shall be stipulated.

Fees and Allowances

7.1 All fees and allowances shall be freely negotiated and paid in full, no later than 30 days following receipt of the invoice. 7.2 Interest shall automatically be applied at 8% over the base rate (or such rate as is determined by statute, the latter prevailing) to all overdue sums from the first date they become due until they are paid in full. 7.3 Fees are charged based on a full day or half day. In the case of a period of less than three hours, a minimum call-out fee shall apply for assignments local to the interpreter’s residence. In exceptional circumstances and at the interpreter’s discretion, fees may be negotiated. Where the Interpreter has been invited to continue for a further period in an extension of the initial contract (see Clause 5.5), a supplementary fee shall be paid at an agreed hourly rate. 7.4 Where travel to and from the Interpreter’s normal place of residence and an assignment cannot reasonably be completed within the same day as the assignment, travel time will be remunerated at the same rate as working time. 7.5 Where travel to and from the Interpreter’s normal place of residence and an assignment involves a total of more than four hours, travel time will be remunerated at 50% of the agreed hourly rate. 7.6 A supplementary fee for working unsociable hours shall be agreed between the Interpreter and the Client in advance for assignments between the hours of 19:00 and 08:00 or on weekends, or on public holidays. 7.7 Where an Interpreter is required, from the outset, to work longer than the working day, a supplementary fee shall be negotiated at an agreed hourly rate. 7.8 Where payment to the interpreter is reliant on a third party, the Client will indemnify the interpreter on completion of the assigned task against any revenue loss due to non-payment by the third party. This term is non-negotiable and is deemed to be accepted in all circumstances.

Travel and Accommodation

8.1 Arrangements for travel and accommodation shall be the Client’s or the Interpreter’s responsibility, as agreed before acceptance. 8.2 Travel arrangements shall ensure that the Interpreter arrives at an agreed time before the start of the assignment and does not have to leave prematurely. 8.3 Where the Client makes travel arrangements, these shall be such as to ensure that the Interpreter arrives sufficiently rested to fulfil the assignment to the expected standard. 8.4 Where the Interpreter makes the travel arrangements, they shall seek to obtain travel and accommodation at a reasonable cost compatible with satisfactory performance of the assignment. Any expenditure incurred shall be reimbursed to the Interpreter within 30 days following receipt of the invoice. If any such arrangements made by the Interpreter have to be varied or cancelled, any reimbursed sums recovered by the Interpreter shall be immediately repaid to the Client.

Cancellation

9.1 If an accepted assignment is curtailed or cancelled either wholly or in part, or the performance of the assignment is frustrated for reasons for which the Client or the Client’s principal are responsible, the Client shall be liable for payment of a cancellation fee according to Clause 9.4. 9.2 Any expenditure incurred as agreed in the contract and any additional expenditure incurred as a result of the cancellation shall also be reimbursed 9.3 Any cancellation fee shall be agreed between the parties before acceptance of the assignment and shall be determined in relation to the time between notification of cancellation and the start date, as follows: • 7 days or less notice: 100% of agreed fee • 8 to 14 days’ notice: 50% of the agreed Fee • 15 or more days’ notice: No Fee payable

9. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales.