Remote Interpreting Policy

InSignLanguage Ltd · Document code ISL-LEG-F-F · Supports the Terms and Conditions of Service (ISL-LEG-B01) · Governing law: England & Wales

Version 1.3 · Effective 29 October 2026 · Reviewed annually.

Read with: ISL-LEG-B08 Online Interpreting Booking Policy · ISL-LEG-B11 Recording and Broadcast · ISL-LEG-A06 Safeguarding Statement

F-F1. Purpose and scope

This policy covers interpreting delivered over video. It sets out when remote delivery is appropriate, when it is not, and what has to be in place for it to work.

It follows ASLI best practices for video interpreting services in the UK (Helen Ryan and Robert Skinner, 2025), the current guidance on video interpreting from the Association of Sign Language Interpreters (ASLI). For health settings it also applies ASLI's Guidelines for Booking Interpreters in Healthcare Settings (2020). Where we go further than ASLI, this policy says so.

ASLI describes three ways of interpreting over video:

• Online interpreting - the interpreter joins a meeting on a mainstream platform such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom. The interpreter is booked for that assignment, has access to preparation material and may already know the people involved. Most of our remote work is online interpreting.

• Video Relay Service (VRS) - a Deaf person and a hearing person are in different places, and the interpreter relays the call between them.

• Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) - the Deaf and hearing participants are usually in the same place, and the interpreter joins by video.

This policy is about how the work is delivered. The commercial terms of booking it - lead times, confirmation, prices, cancellation - are in the Online Interpreting Booking Policy (ISL-LEG-B08). Read both.

F-F2. Remote is a different job, not a cheaper room

Interpreting over video removes peripheral vision, most body language and the ability to manage turn-taking naturally. ASLI notes that a two-dimensional video link requires adaptations to language use and signing, and that any change to an interpreter's working environment can affect the quality of their work. It is measurably more tiring than working in the room.

Video interpreting does not replace in-person interpreting. We treat it as a distinct mode with its own limits, and an in-person interpreter remains an option for every assignment.

F-F3. Deciding whether video is suitable

Everyone must agree. ASLI's guidance is that the agreement of all participants, and especially the Deaf participant, is needed before video interpreting is used. If the Deaf participant would prefer an interpreter in the room, we will tell you and offer that instead.

We ask about the assignment when it is booked, and we look at the factors ASLI identifies:

• the consequences for the Deaf person's life after the session has ended

• how many people will take part

• how fast the exchange is likely to be

• whether slides, documents, videos or other material will be used during the session

• the picture and sound quality at each end

• how sensitive the subject matter is

Who interprets. Our interpreters are registered with NRCPD, SRLPDC or RBSLI. An interpreter's registration shows their qualification, and we also consider their experience and suitability for video work before allocating it. ASLI accepts that regulated trainee interpreters may work in video settings that are pre-booked rather than on demand, with the work matched to their skill level. We follow that: trainee interpreters work only on pre-booked assignments, allocated according to their skill level.

F-F4. Situations ASLI considers not appropriate for video

ASLI lists the following situations as generally not appropriate for video interpreting. We will decline remote delivery, or advise against it, for each of them:

• police suspect or witness interviews

• court hearings

• psychiatric assessments

• Mental Health tribunals

• Mental Health discharge assessments

• emergency Mental Health assessments, including any that may lead to a person being sectioned

• tribunals or disciplinary meetings

• immigration interviews

• settings with several participants, fast-paced exchanges and no formal structure, such as classroom teaching or board meetings

• highly emotional or potentially volatile settings, such as counselling or therapy

• settings involving a Deaf person with an additional disability, such as a visual impairment or a learning disability

ASLI compiled this list from a survey, run by its Video Interpreting Standards Group, of service providers, interpreters, academics and people who use video interpreting services.

F-F5. Further situations where we advise against video

ASLI's healthcare guidance adds the following situations. We apply them in any setting where they arise, not only in health settings:

• the Deaf person is Deafblind

• the Deaf person has significant idiosyncratic language, atypical signing or additional needs, or a Deaf interpreter is indicated

• mental capacity is being assessed, or consent is to be given to treatment or to continuing or withholding it

• end-of-life decisions are being discussed

• a physical examination forms part of the appointment, or it needs movement around the room or the use of medical equipment

• the person is severely ill, or their movement or position is restricted by medical equipment

• pre-operative or post-operative consultations

• the person is under the influence of a substance, medical or otherwise, that may affect their language or understanding

• a Deaf child is involved, particularly where their parents have limited access to BSL

• the person may struggle to use the technology

We also advise against video where:

• the matter is a safeguarding or child-protection concern

• significant or distressing news is to be given

• the setting cannot provide the technical minimum at F-F8

F-F6. Exceptions

The situations in F-F4 and F-F5 are ones where video is generally not appropriate. ASLI's healthcare guidance accepts that in an emergency, or when no in-person interpreter is available, remote interpreting is better than no interpreting at all.

We will deliver remotely in one of these situations only where all participants, including the Deaf participant, agree; the risks have been discussed and can be managed; and we have recorded the reasons in writing before the assignment. The interpreter keeps the right to withdraw under F-F7. Where these conditions cannot be met, we say no and offer an in-person alternative.

Written English, a phone app, or pen and paper is not a substitute for an interpreter for someone whose preferred language is BSL.

F-F7. When an interpreter may decline or withdraw

ASLI recommends that providers set out when an interpreter may decline or withdraw from a call. An interpreter working for us may decline an assignment, or end a session that has started, where:

• a participant is abusive to the interpreter

• there are significant technical problems, such as a poor picture or sound, that prevent accurate interpreting

• a conflict of interest arises

• a participant says they are pretending to be someone else and expects the interpreter to carry on

• the subject matter is, or becomes, unsuitable for video, including any of the situations in F-F4 or F-F5

The interpreter will tell the participants that the session is ending and why. This is the interpreter's professional judgement, and we will support it.

If it becomes clear that a participant does not use BSL, for example because they use a different sign language, the interpreter will tell the participants, and we will talk to you about the right provision before continuing.

F-F8. Preparation and the technical minimum

Preparation. ASLI's guidance is that without enough preparation the quality of interpreting can be seriously compromised. Please send us the context of the session and any material in advance: the agenda, papers, slides, previous minutes, and the names and roles of the people taking part. Where several people will attend, the chair should agree with the interpreter at the start how the meeting will be run.

The technical minimum. The Client provides: sufficient bandwidth for stable video; a camera at head height showing the speaker's face and hands; even lighting on every face, with no window or bright screen behind anyone; audio good enough that the Interpreter can hear every participant; a private space appropriate to the subject matter; and a named person who can pin or spotlight the Interpreter and manage turn-taking.

Where the platform allows it, the Interpreter is pinned or spotlighted for the Deaf participant for the whole session.

An agreed fallback - a telephone number, or a decision to reschedule - is settled before the session starts.

At the start of the session. Everyone has the right to know an interpreter is present, and the interpreter will introduce themselves. Everyone taking part must be introduced, including anyone who is out of shot or only listening. Where the camera can be moved, it helps to show the interpreter where each person is sitting. Where there are co-interpreters, both are introduced and the pauses for handing over are agreed. Interpreting involves a short time lag, and the interpreter may explain how the session will run.

F-F9. Breaks, duration and the number of interpreters

ASLI's guidance is that an interpreter's performance is known to decline after about 30 minutes of continuous work, and that interpreters working by video report mental fatigue after about 20 minutes. Short, frequent breaks work better than long, occasional ones.

How many interpreters. One interpreter can sustain a one-to-one conversation, with breaks. Anything wider - several speakers, a programme, an audience - is interpreted by a team of co-interpreters, who switch lead roles every 15 to 20 minutes, or whenever a natural transition point arises. Calls on our Video Relay Service follow F-F9A.

Rest. The rest requirement is the same as in-person work: fifteen minutes' rest for every sixty minutes of interpreting. The Interpreter's judgement on when a break is needed is decisive, and an Interpreter may stop if fatigue is affecting accuracy.

F-F9A. Video Relay Service: interpreters and breaks

This clause applies only to calls on our Video Relay Service (VRS). All other remote interpreting follows F-F9.

One interpreter. A VRS call is covered by one interpreter. Most VRS calls are short one-to-one conversations, and one interpreter covers them well.

Longer one-to-one calls. A longer one-to-one call is also covered by one interpreter. The interpreter can call a short break at any point to keep the interpreting accurate, and we ask everyone on the call to allow for it. On a call that runs for more than an hour, the rest requirement in F-F9 applies. The Interpreter's judgement on when a break is needed is decisive.

Two interpreters. A call with several people taking part, or with complex content, is covered by two interpreters working as a team, as described in F-F9. When your service is set up, we agree with you which calls need two interpreters and how you will tell us when you book one. Unless your contract says otherwise, a two-interpreter call is booked as an online session and charged at the Co-worked RSLI price in the Online Interpreting Booking Policy (ISL-LEG-B08), and the Cancellation and No-Show Schedule (ISL-LEG-F-I) applies to it in full, because both interpreters have set the time aside.

If a call changes. If a call booked for one interpreter turns out to need two, the interpreter will tell the participants, and we will talk to you about rebooking it as a two-interpreter call.

F-F10. If it stops working

If the connection, the sound or the sightline degrades to the point where the Interpreter cannot work accurately, the Interpreter says so and the session pauses. If it cannot be restored, the session ends. An Interpreter who continues in those conditions is producing something that looks like interpreting and is not.

F-F11. Confidentiality, safeguarding and data

Interpreters work from a private, quiet space, using a headset, with a plain background and even lighting. They are bound by their registration body's code of conduct and hold in confidence anything seen or heard in a session. If the privacy of a session is at risk, the interpreter tells the participants.

The one exception to confidentiality is where there is a risk of harm to someone, or a concern about the welfare of a child or an adult at risk. The interpreter then follows our safeguarding procedure, set out in the Safeguarding Statement (ISL-LEG-A06).

How we handle personal data is set out in our Privacy Notice (ISL-LEG-E01). Where we process personal data on your behalf, the Data Processing Agreement (ISL-LEG-F-A) applies.

Platform recording is a recording, and so is automatic transcription. Neither is permitted without our prior written agreement, the Interpreter's agreement and the knowledge of everyone present.

Recording costs £550 for a full day or £275 for anything shorter, and it is available only with Registered interpreters - trainee and mixed-pair services exclude recorded work entirely. The full position, including what you may then do with the recording, is in ISL-LEG-B11.

F-F12. Supporting interpreters

ASLI asks providers to protect the physical and emotional wellbeing of interpreters working by video. Interpreters working alone follow our Lone Working Policy (ISL-LEG-F-B). They can contact an InSignLanguage coordinator during a session, and can raise any concern about an assignment with us afterwards.

F-F13. Feedback

Everyone who uses our remote interpreting can tell us how it went. We ask for feedback after assignments and use it in our quality reviews. To make a complaint, see our Complaints Procedure (ISL-LEG-A07).

F-F14. Review

Reviewed annually, or sooner following an incident or a change in ASLI's guidance.

Cross-references: ISL-LEG-A06 Safeguarding Statement · ISL-LEG-A07 Complaints Procedure · ISL-LEG-B01 Terms and Conditions of Service · ISL-LEG-B08 Online Interpreting Booking Policy · ISL-LEG-B11 Recording and Broadcast · ISL-LEG-C01 Interpreter Supplier Terms · ISL-LEG-E01 Privacy Notice · ISL-LEG-F-A Data Processing Agreement · ISL-LEG-F-B Lone Working Policy · ISL-LEG-F-D Service Level Agreement

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