"General Terms and Conditions" - should I sign them? Thread poster: Ludmila Kotnis
|
|---|
Dear Colleagues,
I am a fresh graduate and I am still looking for my first clients. As a newcomer to the profession, I do not know some things that probably are obvious for most of you. Lately, I have received my first test translation and I have also been asked to send signed "General Terms and Conditions" as soon as possible, before I even send them the translated text. OK, I guess this is a standard document, but should I be worried or alarmed that the document contains informat... See more Dear Colleagues,
I am a fresh graduate and I am still looking for my first clients. As a newcomer to the profession, I do not know some things that probably are obvious for most of you. Lately, I have received my first test translation and I have also been asked to send signed "General Terms and Conditions" as soon as possible, before I even send them the translated text. OK, I guess this is a standard document, but should I be worried or alarmed that the document contains information about potential penalties or about the need to participate in potential scheduled meetings relating to the contractual service? It should be stressed here that from what I understand this company does not only work with freelance translators and that probably this is a standard document that they send to all potential co-workers. How can I make sure if it is safe for me to sign such a document? Also, I found the job offer on ProZ and the company appears to be trustworthy.
I would be pleased to read any comments!
Thank you. ▲ Collapse
| | | | vokian_inc
India
Local time: 12:52
German to English
+ ...
| "General Terms and Conditions" - should I sign them? | Oct 9, 2012 |
Hi Ludmila,
I represent a translation Agency and we do ask our translator to sign the "General Terms and Conditions" if necessary.
Now a days its very general to get NDA or "General Terms and Conditions" signed before the job is been allotted.
If the company appears to be trustworthy, then do not hesitate to sign it or to do the sample test.
All the best for your future!!
Cheers,
Sardy
Vokian Localisation
| | | | Emin Arı 
Türkiye
Local time: 10:22
English to Turkish
+ ...
| most of times it is just a paperwork, no need to worry | Oct 9, 2012 |
I have signed many of them in the past and nothing happened. However, I recommend you to have a quick look at it, just to be on the safe side. NDAs are straight forward agreements that just tell you "keep everything confidental" even for a public user manuals!
| | | |
Dear colleagues,
Thank you very much for your answer! This helps a lot. I've read some topics here on ProZ that you shouldn't sign anything you don't like (I mean the paragraph about potential penalties, which from what I heard is not such a common thing in "Terms and Conditions"), but it's not like I'm in any position to negotiate right now. And the company really appears to be oK.
By the way, from what I see it's not a 'regular' NDA and it has much more content (e.g.... See more Dear colleagues,
Thank you very much for your answer! This helps a lot. I've read some topics here on ProZ that you shouldn't sign anything you don't like (I mean the paragraph about potential penalties, which from what I heard is not such a common thing in "Terms and Conditions"), but it's not like I'm in any position to negotiate right now. And the company really appears to be oK.
By the way, from what I see it's not a 'regular' NDA and it has much more content (e.g. about property rights, sending invoices etc.).
Again, thanks a lot!
Ludmila
[Edited at 2012-10-09 08:53 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 08:22
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| scheduled meetings? | Oct 9, 2012 |
Ludmila Kotnis wrote:
should I be worried or alarmed that the document contains information about potential penalties or about the need to participate in potential scheduled meetings relating to the contractual service?
You probably don't need to feel worried or alarmed, Ludmila, but you certainly need to query it. If you simply send it back as it is, then you are potentially liable to attend any meetings, at your own cost, even if they're in a different country. I'm sure that's not what the agency intends, so I'm sure they'll be happy to change it. Probably, they'll ask you to cross out that phrase and sign by the deletion, as well as signing in the normal place. If they insist on you signing their document without changing anything, that should start alarm bells ringing.
I've only just noticed the bit about the "potential penalties": it depends a bit on what they are, but it's not up to you to pay for the agency's or the end client's business risk. You can only take responsibility for your own errors. The agency should be proofreading your work and should therefore be confident that it is correct before they deliver it. Your liability - IMO as a translator, not as a lawyer - should be limited to the amount of the payment for the job. Some clients think we should take responsibility for all the consequences of an error (lost contracts, missed planes...), but I don't think that's reasonable. Some translators expect to be paid in full, whatever the quality (after all, the client chose them for the job), but that doesn't seem right to me, either. I believe we should each take responsibility for our errors - but there are limits. That's just my personal opinion, though.
You're right to query this contract - never sign anything you're not sure about. That's got to be good advice for us all.
| | | | Vera Schoen
Sweden
Local time: 09:22
Member (2008)
German to Swedish
+ ...
| Ask the agency | Oct 9, 2012 |
Dear Ludmila.,
The best thing to do every time you feel uncomfortable about terms and conditions is to address the agency about it. The good ones – and certainly the ones you’d want to work with – will explain them to you, and also inform you if a particular one isn’t applicable to your work. (Always good to have that in writing!) You are of course also free to negotiate the terms and conditions you can/will not accept. It is you and you alone who decides what conditions you accept... See more Dear Ludmila.,
The best thing to do every time you feel uncomfortable about terms and conditions is to address the agency about it. The good ones – and certainly the ones you’d want to work with – will explain them to you, and also inform you if a particular one isn’t applicable to your work. (Always good to have that in writing!) You are of course also free to negotiate the terms and conditions you can/will not accept. It is you and you alone who decides what conditions you accept.
I wish you all the best!
Vera
[Edited at 2012-10-09 09:10 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Signing an electronic document; potential penalties | Oct 9, 2012 |
Sheila Wilson wrote:
I'm sure that's not what the agency intends, so I'm sure they'll be happy to change it. Probably, they'll ask you to cross out that phrase and sign by the deletion, as well as signing in the normal place.
(...)
I've only just noticed the bit about the "potential penalties": it depends a bit on what they are, but it's not up to you to pay for the agency's or the end client's business risk. You can only take responsibility for your own errors.
Dear Sheila,
Thank you for your comments! They actually make me think even more and I have a new question. Namely, the company asked me to send the document back by e-mail, so to be honest I assumed that just typing my name is enough to sign an electronic document. Now that I read your advice about signing by the deletion, I'm starting to think that maybe I'm wrong?
As far as the penalties are concerned, it is written that they need to be paid in any case of contravention of "Terms and Conditions". Any thoughts on that?
Again, thanks for help!
Ludmila
EDIT. @Vera: Obviously you are right. I wrote them an e-mail and asked about it. Thank you!
[Edited at 2012-10-09 09:22 GMT]
[Edited at 2012-10-09 09:22 GMT]
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 09:22
Spanish to English
+ ...
In general, this is simply standard practice for many companies/agencies and even some freelancers - my own, for example, are basically a list of services I don't provide or would charge extra for.
However, if you're unsure about any particular areas or clauses in an agreement, you should ask a lawyer - or someone with a bit more legal knowledge/experience - about it.
| | |
|
|
|
Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 08:22
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Print, sign, scan, email - how about the trees? | Oct 9, 2012 |
Ludmila Kotnis wrote:
the company asked me to send the document back by e-mail, so to be honest I assumed that just typing my name is enough to sign an electronic document. Now that I read your advice about signing by the deletion, I'm starting to think that maybe I'm wrong?
I think they'll want you to print it, sign it, scan it and send it. It's a total pain!
As far as the penalties are concerned, it is written that they need to be paid in any case of contravention of "Terms and Conditions". Any thoughts on that?
Again, you probably need to check what they actually mean. I personally would be happier if the word 'deliberate', 'wilful' or similar was qualifying it. With the best well in the world, something may sometimes not go as expected. If they're just trying to guard themselves against total incompetence, OK, but the agreement could be worded to show that.
I really don't know - so much has to be done in good faith and you just have to follow your nose, IMO. Few of us are trained lawyers and we want to spend our time translating, not discussing terms.
| | | | | Thank you for participation | Oct 11, 2012 |
I've been away for a couple of days, but I want to thank for everyone's comments. It's nice to be a participant of such a friendly community.
Ludmila
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » "General Terms and Conditions" - should I sign them? | Trados Studio 2022 Freelance | The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.
Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop
and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
More info » |
| | TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
