Agreement between Clarion Interpreting Ltd (Clarion UK) and Freelance Support Professionals (the Freelancer)

The terms and conditions below (1-10) are designed to match Student Finance England’s payment terms. Changes to Student Finance payment terms will result in changes to our terms and conditions, and Clarion UK reserve the right to edit them in line with student finance payment terms as necessary.

The below terms apply to all professionals working in non-medical help, including specialist note-takers. They only exclude BSL interpreters who operate under separate terms and conditions.

1. Fees

Freelancers will be paid for the exact times represented on the timesheet. (e.g. – a booking 10:00am -10:45am – will be charged at 0.75 hours.

Clarion UK cannot pay for any breaks during the working day.

Bookings over 6 hours will be subject to an assumed one-hour unpaid lunch break.

2. Rates of pay

Hourly rates of pay will be agreed with the booking coordinator at the time of booking.

3. Travelling expenses

We do not pay travel expenses.

Please note that as a self-employed freelancer, your accountant will be able to assist you in recovering travel costs through your annual self-assessment tax return, subject to HMRC rules.

4. Payment

Invoices must be submitted through the online Clarion UK Supplier Portal at http://suppliers.clarion-uk.com/login.  Payment of your invoices will be made within 30 days of our approval of your invoice if they are submitted within 3 working days. 

It is a mandatory requirement that all timesheets are correctly completed as per the guidance from Student Loans Company (SLC)Your invoice, together with a signed timesheet must be submitted through the portal. Payment will not be made until these documents have been received by Clarion UK.

If the booking over-runs you must inform the office immediately by emailing education@clarion-uk.com.  If we are not informed by the end of the working week, we will not be able to issue payment for the additional time worked.

You must not attend a booking unless you have been sent and emailed a booking confirmation, and Clarion reference number. Bookings attended without these will not be paid. Booking confirmations cannot be obtained retrospectively.

5. Cancellation

Clarion UK will only pay for cancellations that occur within 24 hours of the booking commencing. 

6. Missed sessions

Where a student does not attend a booking, it is the responsibility of the freelancer to inform Clarion of the reason, by email, on the day of the missed session. This is to help us to understand if the student was unwell, and if so, if the absence was related to any disability they might have.

The reason of the missed or cancelled session will determine who we need to invoice and potentially whether we receive any payment for the missed booking.

Failure to provide this information will result in delay to your payment and could result in you forfeiting your fee.

Examples of why a session is missed could include (but are not limited to):-

• The University cancelled the lecture
• The lecturer was ill
• The student was ill (related to their DSA support)
• The student was ill (other illness)
• The student cancelled (with reason)

If arriving late for, or departing early from a booking, the Freelancer may be deemed in breach of contract and may forfeit their fee – this will be at the sole discretion of Clarion UK.

7. Working Practice

The Freelancer will be guided by the professional codes of conduct of their relevant body.  The Freelancer should be guided by the ethical demands of the professional arena in which the assignment takes place.  The Freelancer will make every effort to arrive at least 10 to 15 minutes prior to the assignment time. Should the client not have arrived for commencement of the assignment the Freelancer should contact Clarion for further advice.  We will then endeavour to locate the client and advise the Freelancer if the booking has been cancelled – at this point, we will send a cancellation notice and a cancellation fee will become payable.

The Freelancer has the right to withdraw their services if an assignment is substantially different from that described at the time of the booking and if they feel that to continue to work would be detrimental to their own wellbeing and professional standing or if they feel that to continue working would not be in the best interest of the client.  Under such circumstances, Clarion UK will be reasonable in assessing if the Freelancer was reasonable in withdrawing their service and determining if the fee is still payable.

Freelancers have a responsibility to inform Clarion UK at the earliest opportunity if sickness will prevent them from attending a booking.  We can be contacted by text on 07970588783, by email to education@clarion-uk.com or call us on 01763 209001.  Similarly, if the Freelancer experiences any travel delays they must contact Clarion UK as early as possible so that Clarion UK may contact the customer and manage their expectations.

Clarion UK will endeavour to provide the Freelancer with written confirmation and details no more than 2 working days after verbal confirmation.

8. General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

Through our contract with Student Finance England, external partners review the personal data we hold in order to complete their audits.

The auditing partner is DSA QAQ who will use your data as outlined below:

• Transfer/sharing of information so that the auditor can audit the organisation’s internal
• Process for dealing with the delivery of the Education Contract

9. Protection of Clarion UK’s contracts and interests

The work carried out under this agreement is done on behalf of Clarion UK and, whilst working on behalf of Clarion UK, you should conduct yourself appropriately and professionally at all times, and you must not act in any way to harm the reputation of Clarion UK or the relationships with our clients and customers.  It is expressly forbidden under the terms of this agreement for the Freelancer to enter or to try to enter into any private consultation or arrangement with any contractor, client or company with whom you have been asked to work on behalf of Clarion UK.

10. Agency Workers Regulations

By accepting a booking from Clarion UK, the Freelancer confirms that they do not fall under the scope of the Agency Workers Regulations.