A phone interpreter for recruitment and temp agencies
Every candidate registered properly, whatever they speak.
Warehouse, agriculture, hospitality, care - the sectors agencies staff run on a multilingual workforce, and the language barrier sits right in the middle of your core process. Registrations, right-to-work conversations, inductions, shift changes, timesheet queries: Phone Interpreter puts a live interpreter on the line in two rings, so every one of them just happens.
30+ languages. Answers in two rings. No contract, cancel any time.
The registration that stalls at the front desk
A strong candidate arrives to register. Their English covers hello and a handshake, and then the form starts: previous experience, availability, transport, bank details for payroll. A consultant gestures, a friend translates half of it by phone, and forty minutes later the file is incomplete, the candidate is embarrassed, and nobody is sure the availability recorded is the availability meant. That candidate was placeable - the conversation was the only thing that wasn't working.
The arithmetic is stark for an agency: every registered, working candidate is margin every week they are placed. A registration lost to a language barrier is not one lost conversation - it is that candidate's entire placement value gone to whichever competitor could take their details. In sectors where the best workers often speak Romanian, Polish, Bulgarian or Lithuanian first, the agency that can register them properly wins the supply.
Why a live interpreter beats a translation app here
Agency conversations are dense with exactly the details apps mangle: shift patterns, hourly rates, site addresses, PPE requirements, payroll and holiday pay explanations. And they carry compliance weight - a candidate who did not understand what they agreed to is a problem later, not just at the desk. A live interpreter on speaker carries whole conversations across accurately, confirms the details both ways, and keeps registration a professional experience rather than a mime.
Right-to-work checks are a legal requirement with defined steps - the official right-to-work guidance is exactly the kind of conversation a candidate needs to genuinely understand, not nod through.
Translation apps were built for typed phrases and patient tourists. A working business conversation is neither: real telephone audio, background noise, interruptions, and details - prices, dates, names, addresses - that cost money when they land wrong. The interpreter manages the rhythm of the conversation itself: it waits for a complete thought, carries it across whole, and confirms the details that matter instead of guessing at them.
It also removes the awkwardness. Nobody passes a phone screen back and forth or leans into a mishearing microphone. The call sits on speaker, both people talk normally, and the conversation belongs to them - the interpreter is simply the bridge in the middle, the same way a professional human telephone interpreter works.
Where it earns its keep in your agency
The conversations where the interpreter pays for itself.
Registering a new candidate
Experience, availability, transport, certifications, payroll details - the interpreter carries the whole registration conversation both ways, so the file is complete and correct first time.
Inductions and site rules
Health and safety briefings, PPE requirements, site conduct - delivered so the candidate actually understands them, which protects the worker, the client site and your compliance position.
Shift offers and changes
Tomorrow's shift moved, an extra weekend line opened, a site address changed - the quick calls that keep books filled get made and understood instead of skipped.
Timesheet and pay queries
The Friday call about missing hours or a deduction is exactly where trust is won or lost. Handled clearly in the worker's language, a payroll query stays a query instead of becoming a walk-off.
Client-site introductions
Walking a new starter onto a client site with a supervisor who needs to explain the role - three-way on speaker, everyone aligned, no first-morning confusion.
Welfare and check-in calls
Regular check-ins with placed workers - how the site is treating them, any problems, are they staying - in the language they can actually answer honestly in.
How it works
No apps, no logins, no equipment. Any phone with a speaker.
Call your interpreter line
Your business gets its own dedicated number. Ring it from the desk phone or any mobile.
Name the languages
Say the pair you need, or just start talking - it recognises the language and confirms in seconds.
Talk through it
Put it on speaker. One person speaks, pauses, and the interpreter carries it across - both directions, as long as you need.
Questions from recruitment and temp agencies
Can it handle right-to-work and compliance conversations?
It interprets the conversation accurately in both directions, which is exactly what those checks need. The legal steps and document checks remain yours to carry out - the interpreter makes sure the candidate genuinely understands each one.
Which languages do agencies use most?
Romanian, Polish, Bulgarian and Lithuanian lead in industrial and agricultural staffing, with Portuguese, Punjabi and Urdu strong in care and warehouse work. All 30+ languages are on every plan - no premium for any of them.
Does it work for branch walk-ins and phone registrations?
Both. On a walk-in, the desk phone goes on speaker between consultant and candidate. On a phone registration, the consultant conferences the interpreter line in - either way it answers in two rings.
Can several consultants use one line?
Yes - the number belongs to the business, not a person. Any consultant dials it from any phone, and busy branches on larger plans get pooled minutes with call summaries.
What about explaining payslips and deductions?
Numbers are repeated carefully as full spoken amounts in the worker's language - rates, hours, deductions, holiday accrual - because pay confusion is the fastest way to lose a good worker.
Is it suitable for interviews on behalf of clients?
Yes, for standard screening and suitability interviews. For anything formal or evidential, use a certified human interpreter - the same boundary we state for every industry.
Will it cope with strong accents and noisy backgrounds?
It is built for real telephone audio - accents, background noise, people talking at natural speed. If a phrase is genuinely unclear it asks once for a repeat, in the speaker's own language, rather than guessing at something important.
How quickly can we be set up?
Same day. Choose a plan, your interpreter number is provisioned, and the first call can happen minutes later - there is no onboarding process, no training and no equipment to install.
Languages recruitment and temp agencies ask for most
All 30+ languages are on every plan - these are the pairs this industry uses most.
Portuguese
Live English to Portuguese interpreting on the same line.
English to Portuguese interpreterWhat it costs for recruitment and temp agencies
Simple monthly plans, no contract, cancel any time.
Starter - £19 a month
Your own dedicated interpreter number with 40 interpreting minutes a month. All 30+ languages included from day one.
Business - £49 a month
150 minutes a month with call summaries and a discounted top-up rate - the plan most recruitment and temp agencies choose.
Pro - £99 a month
400 minutes a month, the best top-up rate and priority support for busy counters and multi-site teams.
Just want to try it once? An instant session starts at £4.99 for 5 minutes - no account needed. Human telephone interpreting agencies typically charge £1 or more per minute with hourly minimums; every plan above works out well under that.
Other industries using the interpreter line
Care agencies and home care
How this trade uses live interpreting day to day.
Interpreting for Care agencies and home careHotels and guest houses
Counter and phone scenarios for this industry.
Interpreting for Hotels and guest housesGarages and MOT centres
Where the language barrier costs this trade most.
Interpreting for Garages and MOT centresPut an interpreter on the counter today.
From £19 a month. 30+ languages. No contract, cancel any time.
Get your interpreter line