Language company thebigword to recruit 3,000 after signing £120m Ministry of Justice deal

Global language services company thebigword has today signed the biggest interpreting contract in Europe – a deal worth up to £120m to provide face-to-face, telephone interpreting and translations to the Ministry of Justice in the UK.

The international business, which employs more than 550 people from 11 offices around the world and already has 8,000 linguists, will now begin recruiting more than 100 new support staff at its headquarters in Leeds, England, and more than 3,500 language experts.

thebigword won the contract to provide expert linguists to organisations across the Justice System, including HM Courts and Tribunals Service, National Probation Service (NPS), Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), HM Prison Service (HMPS) and others. Senior management have now signed the contract after finalising negotiations with Government officials.

Staff at thebigword have worked with linguist feedback groups to make sure they see improved working conditions and attractive pay and benefits. Linguists will also be able to access accredited training programmes and take work from thebigword’s 7,500 other public and private sector clients around the globe.

Chief executive of thebigword, Larry Gould, says: “The Ministry of Justice decided to work with us because we have the experience, infrastructure and world class technology. We already work with a range of large-scale public sector organisations around the world and they know they can trust us to deliver.

“This is a fantastic deal for thebigword and further cements our position as the largest interpreting services provider in Europe. We have people and offices on every continent and we will continue to push for contracts like this in the private and public sectors as we continue to grow the business.

“We are extremely proud of the work we do breaking down language barriers around the world every day and are now looking forward to helping deliver justice in the UK. It’s also fantastic to be welcoming thousands more skilled Linguists to thebigword family.”

Under the deal, thebigword will help improve efficiency across the Ministry of Justice by delivering dedicated online portals that seamlessly and instantly connect linguists with clients needing language support.

Additionally, the MoJ contract requires the development of a trainee scheme, in conjunction with the Independent Quality Assurance supplier, which will provide career opportunities for new and existing linguists.

The new services commence from October 31 this year and all linguists and staff will be contacted in the coming weeks to be welcomed to thebigword.