NEWS/BLOG
COVID-19: Update for Customers
We, like the rest of the country, continue to monitor events as they change daily regarding the COVID-19 outbreak here in the UK and indeed the rest of the world. We continue to take advice from the UK Government, Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The wellbeing of our interpreters, staff, customers and their clients is of the upmost importance to us, and we are putting what measures we can in place to ensure everyone’s safety.
We have been working with Doctors of the World and the British Red Cross to provide pro bono translations of their guidance in a number of languages. You can find the documents here. They are in the process of being updated so check back this afternoon for new versions or you can send an email to this link (Subscribe) with the word ‘subscribe’ in the subject line to get notifications.
Our interpreters work remotely, so they will continue to be able to provide the same level of telephone interpreting service as before. We have back up agencies available to increase our pool of available interpreters if a number of our interpreters become sick.
If the way you provide services to your clients has changed, we have a conferencing service through our telephone interpreting at no additional charge to our customers. More details about how to dial out to third parties is below.
Please do not book face to face appointments unless absolutely necessary. We appreciate there may be some situations where having an interpreter in person is crucial for you to deliver your service, however please keep these to a minimum and understand that there may be fewer interpreters willing to attend. If you intend to cancel future bookings, please do so as soon as possible so we can inform the interpreters.
If your language services needs require a more bespoke approach, please don’t hesitate to contact the team to discuss.
All our staff are able to work remotely. This will ensure all our services can continue to be provided with no disruption, and protect our staff if someone becomes ill.
In the possibility that volumes may decrease, we are looking at ways of supporting our interpreters through this time.
We understand that our service helps vulnerable to get the support they need, which is even more crucial in situations such as this. If we can help in anyway, please let us know.
To use the conferencing service:
Call the interpreting line and connect to an interpreter as normal. Once connected dial 9 and then the number you wish to call. The team are able to help if you have any questions, you can reach them by pressing # through the system or by calling 0800 520 0380.