Meet Welsh language requirements as a public sector contractor

How the duty reaches you

A Standard can reach a contractor in two ways. First, through the public body. Unless its compliance notice says otherwise, a body that is under a Standard is treated as failing to meet it if a service it has arranged for someone else to provide on its behalf is not provided in line with the Standard. The body is answerable to the Commissioner for how you deliver the service, so expect the tender and contract to say what Welsh-language provision it requires.

Second, directly. The Commissioner can give a compliance notice to a contractor that provides services to the public under an agreement with any of these:

• the Welsh Ministers
• a Minister of the Crown or a government department
• a person exercising functions on behalf of the Crown
• a county or county borough council in Wales

A notice to a contractor can cover only service delivery Standards and the records kept about them, and only for the services you provide to the public under that contract. Services you provide only to the body's staff are outside it.

If you receive a notice, you get at least 6 months before a duty starts. You can ask the Commissioner, in writing and before the start date, to decide whether a requirement is unreasonable or disproportionate. If the Commissioner decides it is not, you have 28 days to appeal to the Welsh Language Tribunal.

What you may have to deliver

Service delivery Standards set out how a body deals with the public in Welsh. Which ones apply to you depends on the contract and the body's compliance notice. Typical examples include:

• replying in Welsh to correspondence received in Welsh
• greeting callers in Welsh on a main, helpline or call centre number, and dealing with the call in Welsh if the caller wants
• offering meetings in Welsh, with translation where the Standard requires it
• producing publicity, documents and forms in Welsh and treating the Welsh version no less favourably than the English one
• giving websites, apps, social media and self-service machines a full Welsh-language service
• putting Welsh on new or renewed signs, positioned to be read first, and making sure it is accurate
• providing a Welsh-language reception service

Welsh does not have to replace English. The Standards ask for Welsh to be provided and treated no less favourably.

Tendering in Welsh

Most Standards on awarding contracts mean that a body must publish its invitation to tender in Welsh and state that tenders may be submitted in Welsh. It must not treat a Welsh tender less favourably than an English one, including on the closing date and the time it takes to tell you the decision. If it needs to interview you about a Welsh tender, it must offer to do so in Welsh, and it must tell you its decision in Welsh.

Prepare before you bid

Read the tender documents for Welsh-language requirements and ask the body which Standards it expects you to meet if they are unclear. Then check that you can deliver them from the first day:

If you do not comply

The Commissioner investigates failures to comply with a Standard, whether prompted by a complaint or not. Where you have a compliance notice, the investigation can be of you directly.

If the failure is the body's, because a service you deliver for it falls short, the Commissioner's powers are against the body. It will look to your contract for a remedy, so read the Welsh-language terms before you sign.