Previous person ‘interpreting’ unqualified
An experienced and qualified interpreter has been booked for an employment disciplinary appeal following a Deaf staff members’ dismissal.
On meeting the client the interpreter realises that they are not a native or fluent British Sign Language (BSL) user. Communication is possible but it is challenging and often ambiguous. The employer explains that the previous interpreter had no communication problems and had only level 2 (a basic language qualification in the UK that is not high enough to register as an interpreter) BSL skills.
- What would you do?
Professional and Customer perspectives:
The interpreter could tell that there was substantial misinterpretation at the previous disciplinary, where the Deaf person lost their job. The interpreter chose to discuss this with the employer, and suggested that they sued both the individual who came and the agency that supplied them. The interpreter offered to support them should they choose to do this.
The interpeter agreed to come back and interpret again at the appeal, but with another Deaf professional known to the Deaf person, who could help support communication and help ensure accuracy and understanding.