Terms and Conditions of bookings with MK Interpreter Limited
By using my services you agree to the following Terms and Conditions:
1. Definitions
'Interpreter' shall mean the person who performs the act of interpreting 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 MK Interpreter and having responsibility for payment of services.
‘Assignment’ shall mean any period or set of consecutive periods of interpreting for one specific purpose or event.
‘Circumstances’ shall mean any circumstances deriving from any cause, which is beyond the control of the Interpreter or the Client.
2. Services Provided
2.1 The services provided by MK 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
3. Contracts
3.1 All assignments shall be confirmed by a written contract between the Client and MK Interpreter, which shall include these Terms of and Conditions and any variants explicitly agreed.
3.2 If MK interpreter is commissioned for an assignment and there is no time to enter into a written contract, 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.
3.3 Where an Interpreter’s services have been contracted for in accordance with either of the means specified above, the Client shall be wholly liable for:
• remuneration of MK 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.
4. Fees and Allowances
4.1 All fees and allowances shall be freely negotiated and paid in full no later than 30 days following receipt of the invoice.
4.2 Late payments will incur a £25 administration charge for every additional invoice sent.
4.3Late payments may also be charged interest once the 30 days has passed. The interest shall be calculated in accordance with the Late payments of commercial debts (interest) Act 1998
4.4 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 at an agreed hourly rate 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.
4.5 Fees may be charged on the basis of an hourly rate, subject to the minimum fee stipulated at the time of booking or be charged at an all inclusive rate. This will be stipulated at the time of contracting MK Interpreter's services. Where the Interpreter has been invited to continue for a further period in extension of the initial contract (see clause 4.4), a supplementary fee shall be paid at an agreed hourly rate.
4.6 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 at working time.
4.7 Where travel to and from the Interpreter’s normal place of residence and an assignment involves a total of more than three hours, travel time will be remunerated at 50% of the agreed hourly rate.
4.8 A supplementary fee for working unsociable hours shall be agreed between MK Interpreter and the Client in advance, for assignments between the hours of 18:00 and 09:00 or at weekends or public holidays.
4.9 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.
4.10 In a situation where the Interpreter cannot continue with the assignment for health and safety reasons the Interpreter may remove themselves from the assignment with no obligation.
5. Travel and Accommodation
5.1 Arrangements for travel and accommodation shall be the responsibility of either the Client or MK Interpreter, as agreed before acceptance.
5.2 Travel arrangements shall ensure that the Interpreter arrives an agreed time before the start of the assignment and does not have to leave prematurely.
5.3 Where travel arrangements are made by the Client, these shall be such as to ensure that the Interpreter arrives sufficiently rested to fulfil the assignment to the expected standard.
5.4 Where the travel arrangements are made by MK Interpreter, they shall seek to obtain travel and accommodation at a reasonable cost. Such costs include but are not limited to; mileage agreed at time of booking, standard class train tickets, car parking, tolls, accommodation and London public transport. Any expenditure incurred shall be reimbursed to MK Interpreter within 30 days following receipt of invoice.
6. Cancellation
6.1 If an accepted assignment is curtailed or cancelled either wholly or in part, or performance of the assignment is frustrated for reasons, which the Client or the Client’s principal are responsible, the Client shall be liable for payment of a cancellation fee according to Clause 6.4.
6.2 Any expenditure incurred as agreed in the contract and any additional expenditure incurred as a result of the cancellation shall also be reimbursed.
6.3 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 MK Interpreter in respect of cancellation fees shall be reduced by the amount of the fees payable for the alternative assignment.
6.4 The client agrees to pay cancellation fees at the following rates and these are determined in relation to the time between notification of cancellation and the original start date of the assignment, they are as follows:
- 7 days or less notice 100% of the Fee is still payable
- 8 to 14 days notice 50% of the Fee is payable
- 15 or more days notice 0% Fee is payable
7. Teams
7.1 Where an assignment requires continuous interpreting for any period of more than one hour, a team of a minimum of two Interpreters (an Interpreter and a coworker) shall be engaged to provide the interpreting service.
7.2 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 prior to the assignment.
7.3 Where three or more Interpreters are engaged for an assignment, one Interpreter shall be designated Team Leader.
7.4 The Team Leader shall be responsible for organizing the work of the interpreting Team and all liaisons with the Client. Additional fees may be agreed in advance for this work.
7.5 No persons who are not members of the Team may be used as Interpreters to complement the Team (unless clause 8 has been satisfied).
7.6 In the case that a booking is frustrated by the non-attendance of an expected coworker, which had previously been confirmed, and a suitable substitute is not found, the Interpreter reserves the right to charge 1.5x the original agreed fee or to withdraw from the booking.
8. Unavoidable Circumstances
8.1 The Interpreter undertakes to notify the Client at the earliest possible opportunity if he/she is prevented from undertaking an assignment or if performance is frustrated by unavoidable circumstances.
8.2 In giving such notice MK Interpreter shall relinquish any right to:
• remuneration for the uncompleted part of the assignment;
• the reimbursement of any expenses, except those already irrecoverably incurred, or necessarily incurred in returning the Interpreter to his/her normal place of residence by suitable means.
9. Substitution of Interpreters
9.1 Substitution of an Interpreter shall only be permitted in agreement with the Client. In such circumstances MK Interpreter shall endeavour to find a suitable substitute.
9.2 The Client shall reasonably accept this substitute, who shall be engaged on the same terms as the Interpreter had previously agreed.
9.3 The Client shall notify any other parties as appropriate.
9.4 Acceptance of the substitute by the Client shall discharge the Interpreter from any further liability.
10. Preparation Materials
10.1 The Client shall provide MK 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.
10.2 If it is not possible to provide preparatory materials, and the Interpreter requests such, the Client shall arrange for a briefing meeting.
10.3 Attendance by the Interpreter at such a meeting shall be paid as working time.
10.4 The Interpreter outside the context of the assignment shall not disclose information contained within preparatory materials. The Interpreter shall be responsible for their safekeeping and immediate return to the Client at the end of the assignment.
11. Recordings
11.1 No record of an Interpreter’s work shall be made without the Interpreter’s prior consent, except where such recording is inherent within legal proceedings. Recordings, which are intended for broadcast or publication, may incur an additional fee.
12. Responsibility and Liability
12.1 The interpreting task shall be carried out by the Interpreter using reasonable skill and care and in accordance with the provisions and spirit of the Code of Professional Conduct of the NRCPD
11.2 The Interpreter shall use his or her best endeavours to interpret to the best of his or her ability, knowledge and belief.
11.3 No guarantee can be given as to the absolute accuracy of any interpretation.
11.4 In the event of a dispute or complaint about the work, the liability of MK Interpreter shall be limited to the value invoiced by MK Interpreter.
11.5 Consequential damages and liability are expressly excluded.
12. Applicability and Integrity
12.1 These Terms and Conditions of Business shall be construed jointly with the NRCPD Professional 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.