Bookings are undertaken subject to and upon the following terms and conditions of business unless specifically agreed otherwise in writing:
TERMS & CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS
1. Definitions
‘Interpreter’ shall mean Melanie Clark; the person who has agreed to provide the British Sign Language (BSL)/English interpreting service.
‘Client’ shall mean the party or intermediary who places an order for services to be provided by Melanie Clark and having responsibility for her remuneration.
‘Assignment’ shall mean any booking of the Interpreter’s services for any one event or period whether for one or more days.
‘NRCPD’ shall mean the National Register of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind People which is the regulatory body for Registered BSL/English Interpreters.
2. Contract
2.1 Unless specified otherwise, the services provided shall comprise British Sign Language (BSL)/English interpreting services and shall be subject to the clauses specified in these Terms and Conditions of Business.
2.2 If there is no time to enter into a written confirmation of the Assignment details, the Assignment shall be entered into on the basis of an oral contract only and these Terms of and Conditions shall be deemed to apply.
2.3 The Client shall be wholly liable for the remuneration of the Interpreting services, and any expenses incurred in connection with the Assignment.
3. Fees, Travel, Accommodation & Subsistence
3.1 Fees agreed between the Client and the Interpreter at the time of the booking and confirmed, either verbally or in writing, shall be considered contractually binding. Additionally, unless agreed otherwise and in writing, all Assignments shall incur travel expenses which shall be paid in addition to the fee agreed for the Assignment.
3.2 In the event that accommodation and/or subsistence is required, this shall be agreed between the Interpreter and the Client prior to the Assignment.
4. Working conditions
4.1 Where an Assignment requires continuous interpreting for any period of more than one hour, a minimum of two interpreters shall be engaged to provide the interpreting service. As an exception to the above, the Interpreter alone may be responsible for all the interpreting services if this is explicitly detailed on the confirmation letter.
4.2 Where a minimum of two Interpreters is agreed but, for whatever reason, not provided on the day, the Interpreter may cancel the booking at the cost of the Client. Should the Interpreter agree to continue alone an additional surcharge of 50% of the agreed fee will be added to the Interpreter’s fee.
4.3 If the Interpreter has agreed to work solo she shall be given adequate opportunity for breaks, ideally 10 minutes every 25 to 30 minutes. No demands shall be made on the skills of the Interpreter during rest periods or breaks.
4.4 Where the Assignment exceeds a three hour period, the Interpreter shall be given a midday rest period of at least 40 minutes.
4.5 If, during the course of the Assignment, it is found that the Interpreter’s services will be required for a longer period than was initially contracted, the Interpreter may be invited, but not obligated, to continue for a further period for which additional fees may be negotiated.
4.6 The Client is responsible for providing the Interpreter with safe working conditions.
4.7 If, for any reason, the Interpreter fears that the working environment is unsafe, the Interpreter may suspend their service. In this event, the Client will still be responsible for payment of the full agreed fee.
5. Preparation Materials
5.1 The Client shall endeavour to provide the Interpreter with relevant information and preparatory materials in the form of background documentation in good time, preferably two weeks in advance of an Assignment in order to ensure provision of a quality service. Preparatory materials shall include such items as:
names of participants;
programs, agendas, Minutes, reports;
briefing papers, speakers notes, motions;
maps, photographs, diagrams and other visual materials;
slides or other materials which will be read out or referred to by participants during the Assignment
(Please also refer to clause 5.3).
5.2 If it is not possible to provide preparatory materials, and the Interpreter requests such, the Client shall arrange for a briefing meeting immediately prior to the commencement of the Assignment.
5.3 Prepared lyrics or video scripts or copies of videos to be played must be given to the Interpreter a minimum of 3 days in advance, unless agreed otherwise. Failure to do so may result in the Interpreter refusing to undertake the translation/interpretation. In the event that the Interpreter needs to withdraw from the Assignment due to the lack of preparatory material, the Client shall still be responsible for the payment of the Interpreter’s fees and any expenses actually incurred.
6. Payment Terms
6.1 Payment terms are strictly 30 days from the date of invoice. In the event of late payment, there will be one reminder and if the invoice is not paid within 5 working days of the reminder, the Interpreter will exercise their statutory right to claim interest (8% over base rate, or such rate as is determined by statute, the latter prevailing) plus compensation for recovery costs. Further, a £25.00 admin fee will be additionally levied for each invoice reminder until the full amount owing, including interest, compensation and admin charges, is paid in full.
7. Cancellation
7.1 If the Client curtails or cancels the Assignment, either wholly or in part, or if performance of the Assignment is frustrated for reasons which the Client or the Client’s client are responsible, the Client shall be liable for payment of a cancellation fee according to clause 7.3. Any expenditure already incurred as agreed in the contract and any additional expenditure incurred as a result of the cancellation shall also be reimbursed.
7.2 If, however, at the time of cancellation the Client is able to offer an alternative Assignment of a similar type under comparable conditions and circumstances for all or part of the period of the original Assignment, the Client’s liability to the Interpreter in respect of cancellation fees shall be reduced by the amount of the fees payable for the alternative Assignment.
7.3 Any cancellation fee shall be agreed between the parties prior to acceptance of the Assignment and shall be determined in relation to the time between notification of cancellation and the start date,
7 days or less notice: Full Fee
8 days to 14 days notice: Half Fee
15+ working days notice: No Fee
7.4 If, for any reason, the Interpreter wishes to withdraw her services for this Assignment she will give at least twenty-one days notice, or provide a suitable replacement. This will not necessarily apply in the event of sudden illness or unforeseen circumstance.
8. Unavoidable Circumstances
8.1 The Interpreter will use her best endeavours to ensure a timely arrival prior to the commencement of the Assignment but will not be responsible or financially liable for any losses or inconveniences in the event of unavoidable travel delays.
8.2 The Interpreter will not be responsible or financially liable for any losses or inconveniences in the event of sudden illness.
9. Remote Working
9.1 The remote interpreting platform must be agreed at the time of booking the Assignment.
9.2 Unless in accordance with section 10 (Recordings), no recording of the Interpreter’s work is permitted
9.3 It is the Client’s responsibility to provide the Interpreter with a link to the remote meeting.
9.4 Preparation materials must be emailed to the Interpreter before the commencement of the meeting (See also Clause 5.1). Further the Interpreter must have sight of all the documents that will be referred to in the meeting.
9.5 The Interpreter will require a briefing meeting with the remote host or meeting chair for at least 10-15 minutes before the start of the arranged Assignment. Every effort must be made to accommodate this request in order that the Interpreter can obtain required information and to articulate any necessary accommodations to facilitate a successful Assignment.
9.6 If additional costs are incurred, e.g. phone call charges to any other party, the cost of these will be added to the agreed fee.
9.7 All meeting participants must endeavour to position themselves in a quiet well-lit space. If there is any external noise interference the meeting chair should ask them to reposition themselves and/or to mute their microphone.
9.8 If the quality of the remote technology renders it not possible to provide an interpretation, the Interpreter may suspend their service. In this event, the Client will still be responsible for payment of the full agreed fee.
10. Recordings
10.1 No recording of the Interpreter’s work shall be made without their prior consent, except where such recording is inherent within legal proceedings.
10.2 Under no circumstances whatsoever can the Interpreter’s work be published, broadcasted or livestreamed without their previous consent which must be agreed in writing before the commencement of the booking. Where permission is granted an additional fee may be negotiated.
11. Complaints and Disputes
11.1 The Interpreter shall use her best endeavours to interpret to the best of her ability and will undertake to perform the interpreting task using reasonable skill and care and in accordance with the provisions and spirit of the NRCPD Code of Conduct, of which details will be provided on request.
11.2 Any complaint or dispute in connection with interpreting work carried out shall be notified to the Interpreter by the Client (or vice-versa) not later than one month from the final day of the Assignment. In the event of a dispute or complaint about the work, the liability of the Interpreter shall be limited to the value invoiced by the Interpreter. Consequential damages and liability are expressly excluded.
11.3 If the parties are unable to resolve the complaint, the Client may have recourse to the NRCPD Professional Standards Panel.
11.4 If a dispute cannot be resolved amicably between the parties, or if either party refuses to accept the decision of the NRCPD Professional Standards Panel, the parties shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.
11.5 In any event these Terms and Conditions shall be construed in accordance with English law.
12. Assurances & Indemnities
12.1 The Interpreter is a fully qualified and registered NRCPD Interpreter (RSLI).
12.2 The Interpreter holds a clean DBS (Enhanced) Disclosure certificate which is available to view online.
12.3 The Interpreter holds professional indemnity insurance up to the value of £250,000.
13. Liability
13.1 The Interpreter shall not be liable under contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise for any loss of profits nor for any indirect or consequential loss, damage, cost or expense of any kind whatever and however caused arising out of or in connection with any act or omission relating to the Services or otherwise.
14. Applicability and Integrity
14.1 These Terms and Conditions of Business shall be construed jointly with the NRCPD Code of Conduct in order to be complete and effective. They shall also be subject to any detailed arrangements or any variants expressly specified in the order relating to a particular interpreting task. No waiver of any breach of conditions in this document shall be considered as a waiver of any subsequent breach of the same or any other provision.
15. Severability
15.1 If any part of the Contract is found by a court or other competent authority to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable then such part will be severed from the remainder of the Contract which will continue to be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law.
16. In receiving these Terms and Conditions of Business and in the absence of any further communication in respect of their contents, it will be assumed that you accept the Terms and Conditions in their entirety.
MELANIE CLARK LIMITED
Registered Sign Language Interpreter
Email: melaniec275@gmail.com
Mobile No: 07711677773
NRCPD No: 1000052
Company No. 08637092
Registered office 28 Wilton Road,
Bexhill-on-Sea, TN40 1EZ
Sussex Interpreters Direct 