Delays in the criminal justice system risk being compounded by a week-long withdrawal of labour starting on Monday by court interpreters in England and Wales angry with the private provider that contracts them.
The move by interpreters, who provide their services through thebigword, which has a £15m contract with the government for interpretation and translation, will come as a blow to the new government as it confronts the crown court backlog of nearly 68,000 cases.
Complaints by interpreters include inadequate rates, not receiving payments they are entitled to, and being required to cover multiple cases for no additional cash.
They also say that a new booking and invoicing app introduced in June by the language service provider is not fit for purpose and that those who have already stopped doing work for thebigword have been replaced by people not suitably qualified.
More than 500 interpreters who provide services to thebigword have formed a WhatsApp group who share their concerns. A message published on the website of the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI), states: “As long as bookings continue to be outsourced by agencies at inadequate rates offered to qualified and regulated interpreters, the current backlog which is the second biggest since Covid, will continue growing …
“We are at the stage where we are withdrawing our services. We hope and trust that attention is appropriately drawn to this extremely serious matter that urgently needs to be addressed and remedied.”
The problems are reminiscent of those raised with private companies who held the translation contract in the past, such as Applied Language Solutions and Capita. In 2012, hundreds of court interpreters boycotted the contract with ALS.
Winston Moore, a Spanish-language interpreter, said of the four months since the new app had been introduced: “There has been a lack of payments, problems with invoicing, we have turned up in court for hearings that have been cancelled, a whole series of issues.”
Andrea Hurtado, another Spanish-language interpreter, said: “A lot of people, including myself, have not received payment for work carried out. [thebigword’s contract] costs the Ministry of Justice quite a bit of money, extortionate fees that are not passed on to the workers. Often, if an interpreter chooses to go to a booking, they’ll be incurring a loss, not making money.”
She said using unqualified interpreters was wrong as “lives are at stake” in criminal proceedings.
The action is not a strike, as the interpreters are not employed by thebigword. However, the law firm Leigh Day is separately acting for interpreters, who it says should be treated as workers rather than self-employed interpreters by thebigword and given appropriate rights under employment law, including holiday pay and at least minimum wage.
A spokesperson for His Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service said: “We are aware of some planned walkouts by interpreters at a small number of criminal courts. We have contingency measures in place to ensure the courts can remain open and disruption is minimal.”
Thebigword, which has its UK headquarters in Leeds, also provides services under its £15m contract to other government ministries, UK Border Force, the NHS, HMRC, local authorities and the emergency services.
A spokesperson for the company said it was aware of the planned protest and had contingency plans to minimise any possible impact on the courts.
“We have a great partnership with our interpreters, who overwhelmingly enjoy the working arrangements we have with them,” the spokesperson said. “There are considerable benefits which they appreciate and understand.
“We have an open dialogue with our people about any issues raised. Our contracts are reviewed by leading employment lawyers who confirm they are entirely appropriate for self-employed freelancers.”
