The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 established a legal framework to impose a statutory duty on public bodies in Wales to comply with new Welsh language standards.
These standards set clear expectations on us to provide services in Welsh to our registrants, stakeholders and the public, and to promote the use of the Welsh language through all our services.
We are required to comply with 148 standards covering service delivery, operational matters, policy making, and record keeping.
Read the Welsh language standards that we are required to comply with.
How we comply with the standards
Service delivery standards
- All staff are aware of how to respond to correspondence (letter and e-mail), answer the telephone, arrange and hold meetings, and greet visitors
- We have a telephone system that enables the caller to select their language preference
- Our answer machine message is bilingual
- All members of staff answer the phone with an initial bilingual greeting and, where direct lines are dialled, transfer the call to a Welsh speaking colleague if that is the caller’s preference and they are unable to provide this service themselves
- All public documents we produce, including newsletters and social media posts, are bilingual and published simultaneously
- We provide simultaneous translation services as appropriate for meetings between staff and external parties
- We provide full simultaneous translation at all public events that we organise, allowing presenters and audience members to participate in Welsh or English
- Registrants involved in our fitness to practise proceedings are able to request that their hearing take place in Welsh
- Witnesses giving evidence at fitness to practise hearings are able to give evidence in Welsh
- Our website (include any online forms) is bilingual
- All signage, public notices and adverts are bilingual
- We publish all tenders for contracts bilingually and respondents are invited to submit in their language of choice
- We respond in Welsh to all tenders received in Welsh and interviews are conducted with the aid of a simultaneous translator where appropriate
- We are currently developing a new central database which will record an individual’s language preference (this information is currently held by each team)
Policy making standards
- We consider the effects of any new policy (or amendments to policy) on opportunities for people to use the Welsh language and ensure that the Welsh language is treated no less favourably than the English language as part of an integrated impact assessment
- When we publish a consultation document we seek views on the effects the policy under consideration would have on opportunities for people to use the Welsh language and to ensure that the Welsh language is treated no less favourably than the English language
- If we undertake or commission research that is intended to assist with policy making, we will ensure that the research considers how the policy decision could be made so that it does not have a negative impact on the Welsh language
Operational standards
- We have a policy in place on using Welsh internally to promote and facilitate the use of the language
- We ask all staff whether they wish to receive their contract of employment in Welsh and whether they wish to receive any correspondence that relates to their individual employment in Welsh
- We publish all internal policies bilingually
- Staff are able to make complaints in Welsh and have the right to respond to a complaint made about them in Welsh
- We provide staff with computer software for checking spelling and grammar in Welsh and provide guidance in our style guide on using Welsh correctly, including correct place names, spellings, terminology, and phrases to avoid
- We assess the Welsh language skills of all staff annually through self-assessment
- We offer Welsh language training to all staff
- We provide information to staff as part of the induction process to raise awareness of the Welsh language
- We have provided appropriate wording and logo for staff’s e-mail signature to signify if they are fluent Welsh speakers or learners
- We offer the Iaith Gwaith badge or lanyard to all Welsh speaking staff/learners
- We assess Welsh language skills for new or vacant posts on a case by case basis
- We publish all information relating to recruitment bilingually and state the language skills required for the post
- All adverts state that we welcome applications in Welsh
- Application forms provide a space for individuals to state if they wish to use Welsh at interview stage and that simultaneous translation will be provided if appropriate
- All signage is displayed in Welsh
Record keeping standards
- We maintain a record of the complaints we receive relating to our compliance with the Welsh Language Standards
- We maintain a record of steps taken to comply with the policy making standards
- We maintain a record of the Welsh language skills of all staff and keep the self-assessments
- We maintain a record of the assessments we carry out for Welsh language skills of new or vacant posts
- We maintain a record of how all new or vacant posts were categorised in relation to Welsh language skills need
How we promote our Welsh language services
We operate as a fully bilingual organisation and we encourage our registrants and other stakeholders to use Welsh when interacting with us, either orally or in writing. There are a number of ways we do this:
- We participate in the Welsh Language Commissioner’s Welsh Language Rights Day each year, promoting our Welsh language services via social media channels
- All our social media channels are operated bilingually
- The landing page on our website provides a language choice to the user each time they accesses our website
- Our website is available in Welsh and English and a Cymraeg / English toggle is on the top right corner of each page of our website allowing the user to switch languages easily
- All job vacancies are advertised in Welsh with applicants able to apply in Welsh
- Our automated answering service provides a language choice to each caller
- We display “Iaith Gwaith” posters in our reception area
- All Welsh speaking staff members have a “Iaith Gwaith” badge or lanyard to wear
We also encourage staff to use the Welsh language internally:
- We issue a quarterly ‘Cymraeg ar Waith’ e-newsletter to all staff to promote the use of the Welsh language across the organisation, and help ensure we implement the Welsh Language Standards consistently
- We have dedicated a section of the EWC style guide on using Welsh correctly, including correct place names, spellings, terminology, and phrases to avoid
- We have installed the Cysgliad software package on the computers of Welsh-speaking employees and the 'To Bach' programme on all computers
- All staff policies, procedures and guidance are available to staff in Welsh in the staff library
- We fully support relevant Welsh language training for all employees
Annual monitoring report
Each year we produce an annual monitoring report which provides information on our compliance and outlines how we have implemented the standards.
Read our Welsh language standards monitoring report for 2022-23 .
Making a complaint
You can make a complaint, to us if we fail to provide a Welsh language service, or if you are unsatisfied with the standard of the Welsh language service we provide.
You can also make a complaint to the Welsh Language Commissioner.
We welcome any comments or suggestions on our bilingual provision, and our approach to the Welsh language.