Legal action launched against translation firm providing services for the police and Somerset Council
TRANSLATORS providing services for Avon and Somerset Police have launched legal action against their employer, DA Languages, alleging they are being 'denied workplace rights.'
At present, translators working for DA Languages, are treated as self-employed contractors, but Leigh Day, a legal firm acting on their behalf, is arguing they should be classed as employees and afforded the appropriate rights which accompany employment.
In a statement a spokesperson for the law firm said: "DA Languages has previously advertised that it has a database of 5,000 Mother Tongue interpreters and translators. Leigh Day says they could all be eligible to join this group action.
"The Manchester-based company works with more than 40 local authorities across the UK and several central government bodies including the Department of Work and Pensions. If the claims against DA Languages are successful, Leigh Day estimates that a claimant who has worked full-time for two years could be entitled to more than £10,000 in compensation.
"The company will only be legally required to compensate those who have brought a claim. Leigh Day is acting under a ‘no win no fee’ agreement, which means interpreters and translators do not pay anything unless their claim is successful."
Leigh Day represents tens of thousands of people working for gig economy employers who are allegedly wrongly classifying their workers’ including Amazon drivers, Just Eat couriers and Bolt drivers. Sam Velody, a solicitor in the employment team at Leigh Day, said:
“Translators and interpreters working for DA Languages are providing vital services, yet they are not being fairly compensated for the hard work they do. “As an employment lawyer, time and time again I see companies taking advantage of the gig economy, believing that they can deny their workers the rights they are entitled to and get away with it.
"Leigh Day works to ensure that is not the case. “We believe that DA Languages interpreters and translators should be classed as workers, rather than self-employed independent contractors, and will fight for them throughout this legal battle to help make this a reality.”
When approached for comment a spokesman for DA Languages said: "DA Languages is a responsible business and takes any complaints seriously. We have not yet received any detailed correspondence from Leigh Day or any complaint from any individual linguist explaining any claim against us.
"Nevertheless, we will obviously carefully consider any such complaint and respond appropriately. As the law explains, contracting parties are free to agree terms, including charges for breach of contract, between themselves. We are committed to providing a first-class service for our customers, especially within hospitals and the justice system, and to working with our valued network of freelance translators and interpreters to do so.
"We hugely value the essential contribution of these languages experts in the delivery of critical services."
