Career Network Agreement

InSignLanguage Ltd · Document code ISL-LEG-B04 · Read with the Client Terms (ISL-LEG-B01) and the Consumer Booking Addendum (ISL-LEG-B02) · Governing law: England & Wales

Version 1.1 · Effective 17 September 2026.

1. What the Career Network is

The Career Network is InSignLanguage's programme supporting Deaf people into work: one-to-one job-search support, BSL interpreter assistance for job-related calls and interviews, regular check-ins, and help with Access to Work (AtW) — the DWP scheme that funds workplace support. Membership is free to you. There is no joining fee, no subscription and no deposit, and we never ask a member for payment to join or to stay. The programme is funded by the AtW-supported work InSignLanguage delivers when members are in employment.

You join as an individual, and you are a consumer for these purposes: the Consumer Booking Addendum applies to you and prevails over anything in this agreement that differs. Employers who wish to support Deaf talent engage separately under our client terms.

2. Joining, and how this agreement is accepted

You join by completing the sign-up form. We then hold a recorded video onboarding call in which we explain the programme, these terms and the Access to Work commitment in section 5 — in plain English and, where you prefer, in BSL. We record the call, with your knowledge, as evidence of what was explained and agreed; the recording is stored under our Privacy Notice.

You accept this agreement by signing (electronically or on paper) or by clear recorded confirmation on the onboarding call. We record the version you accepted, the date and the method. If we materially change this agreement we will tell you before the change takes effect, and the version you accepted continues to apply to you until you accept a new one.

2.1 Who can join

The Career Network is open to Deaf, Deafblind and hard-of-hearing people living in the UK who are aged 16 or over and legally entitled to work here. You join to find work, to stay in work, or to develop your career, and the support is for those purposes.

When you register, give us accurate information about your situation and your employment status, and tell us when it changes. We may ask you to evidence your eligibility — your right to work, confirmation of your employment or job-seeking status, and, where a placement requires it, a DBS check. We ask for the least we need and we tell you why.

3. What we provide

• One-to-one job-search support: applications, CV and interview preparation, and advocacy with employers.

• BSL interpreter support for job-related calls through your VRS account (section 4), and interpreter arrangements for interviews.

• Help preparing your Access to Work grant application, and — once you are in work — help with the monthly AtW claims paperwork.

• Regular check-ins for as long as you need support to find and keep employment.

4. Your VRS allowance

On joining you receive a Video Relay Service account with 200 free minutes per month for job-related calls only. When you start employment, we provide a further allowance of 200 minutes per month for your manager, to support communication with you at work.

The allowance does not cover legal, medical, safeguarding, financial or HR matters — those need appropriately qualified interpreter bookings arranged separately (and, where they concern your employment support, may be covered by your AtW award). Unused minutes do not roll over. We may vary the allowance for new members by publishing a new version of this agreement; your allowance stays as it was when you accepted, unless we improve it.

5. The Access to Work commitment — read this section carefully

5.1 The commitment

If InSignLanguage's support helps you secure employment, you agree that — for as long as you remain a Career Network member — you will:

(a) appoint InSignLanguage as your Access to Work support provider for BSL interpreting, and authorise us to act as your representative in dealings with the AtW scheme about that support (applications, claims and correspondence); and

(b) book the AtW-funded interpreter support for that employment through InSignLanguage.

5.2 Why we ask

The free support in sections 3 and 4 is provided in the expectation that, when your AtW award funds workplace interpreting, InSignLanguage delivers it. That reciprocity is what makes the Career Network free at the point of use. We say this plainly because we would rather you understood the bargain than discovered it later.

5.3 What this commitment is not

• It is not a restriction on your AtW entitlement. Your award is yours. Nothing here reduces it, transfers it, or gives InSignLanguage any right over it.

• It is not a restriction on which interpreter you get. You may express preferences, decline particular interpreters, and ask for changes — we allocate from our registered pool to suit you.

• It is not permanent. You may end it at any time under section 6. If you do, your right to choose any provider for your AtW support is — and always was — yours.

• It carries no fee, penalty or charge if you leave. Ending your membership ends the free services; it costs you nothing.

5.4 Funding integrity

We will only claim from the DWP for support actually delivered, and we will never present another provider's work as ours. If you move some or all of your AtW support elsewhere, tell us and we will ensure the scheme records are accurate — that protects you as the grant-holder.

5.5 Once you are in work

When your Access to Work award is in place and we begin delivering the funded support, our Access to Work Client Terms (ISL-LEG-B12) govern that support: the consultation, the monthly claim and the Support Worker Record of Tasks, telling us when your circumstances change, varying your support, and how that agreement ends. They say the same thing this section does about your award, your choice of interpreter and your freedom to contact the DWP. Where the two differ, ISL-LEG-B12 governs the funded work and this agreement governs your Career Network membership.

6. Leaving the Career Network

You may leave at any time by telling us in writing or in BSL via a recorded message — no notice period, no reason needed, no charge. On leaving: the free support and VRS allowance end; any AtW-funded interpreter bookings already confirmed are honoured or wound down in line with the Cancellation and No-Show Schedule; and the section 5 commitment ends with your membership. We confirm your departure in writing and, on request, provide a handover summary for your new provider.

We may end your membership on 30 days' written notice, or immediately for serious misuse of the service, and will explain why. By serious misuse we mean giving us information you know to be false, using the service for something other than work, job-seeking or professional development, abusing an interpreter or a member of staff, harassment or discrimination, or sharing your account with someone else. Where we suspect fraud against the Access to Work scheme we may have to report it. Ending membership never affects your statutory rights or your AtW award.

7. What we ask of you

None of this is onerous. It is what makes the support work:

• turn up to the sessions you book, and tell us if you cannot — 24 hours’ notice where you can manage it, and just tell us if you cannot;

• give us accurate information about your employment situation, your goals and any other funding you hold;

• reply to us when we need something, particularly during an Access to Work application, where a slow reply costs you weeks at the DWP end;

• treat staff, interpreters and other members with respect.

Interpreter bookings made through your VRS allowance or arranged for an interview are cancelled under the Cancellation and No-Show Schedule (ISL-LEG-F-I). While you are a member and the booking is free to you, a late cancellation costs you nothing — but it costs an interpreter their day, so tell us as soon as you know.

8. Recording, data and confidentiality

Onboarding and coaching calls are recorded only as described in section 2 and under the consent rules in our client terms: informed consent, confirmed in BSL where that is your language. Your data — including your AtW correspondence where you have authorised us to handle it — is processed under the Privacy Notice and the special-category safeguards in our Article 10 policy. You can exercise your data rights at any time.

9. General

This agreement is read with the Client Terms and the Consumer Booking Addendum; where they differ for you as a consumer, the Consumer Booking Addendum prevails, then this agreement, then the Client Terms. Nothing in it limits your statutory rights. It is governed by the laws of England and Wales.

If you would like this agreement explained in BSL, ask — we will arrange it at no cost, and we would rather you understood it than signed it.

InSignLanguage Ltd · 26 Domum Road, Portsmouth PO2 0QZ · Company number 10943637 · VAT registration number GB 298 6629 31 · ICO registration ZC163713 · support@insignlanguage.co.uk