War of words as interpreters blast court translation firm Applied Language Solutions
Angry court interpreters have created a dossier of claims against the firm put in charge of the service.
Applied Language Solutions (ALS) began the contract for providing translators to all English and Welsh courts last month.
But experienced interpreters – who previously translated for witnesses and defendants who don’t speak English – are now refusing to work for the company after their pay was cut. Hundreds of translators protested outside the Commons over the company’s ‘monopoly’, which they say will force them to work for less or abandon their jobs. The protest group Interpreters for Justice says that courts should return to using registered freelancers instead of going via a single agency.
