Handling Welsh-language enquiries as a trade business

Who you might be talking to

If you work in Wales, some of your customers think, write and talk about their homes in Welsh first. In Census 2021, an estimated 538,000 usual residents in Wales aged three and over said they could speak Welsh, 17.8% of that population, down from 562,000 (19.0%) in 2011^[1]. The share varies a great deal from one county to the next, so the national figure understates how often Welsh comes up in some areas and overstates it in others. Check the census results for the local authorities you cover before deciding how far to go.

Most Welsh speakers also speak English, and many will happily book a boiler service in English. The value of Welsh-language service shows up in particular moments: an older customer who is more at ease describing a problem in Welsh, a stressful emergency call, a vulnerable customer who loses confidence in English, or a client such as a school or community council that works in Welsh.

What the law asks of a small trade business

Welsh has official status in Wales, and the Welsh Language Standards set duties for named organisations. The regulations made so far cover county councils, national parks and Welsh Ministers; general public organisations; tribunals and some education and care bodies; police and fire services; universities and colleges; health boards and NHS trusts; health profession regulators; and, since the 2023 regulations, water and sewerage companies^[2]. Ordinary heating, electrical, roofing, cleaning and gardening firms are not on that list.

That does not mean Welsh never matters commercially. If you work for a council, housing association, school or health board, read the contract: a client that has its own duties may ask its contractors to answer tenants or pupils' families in Welsh, to use bilingual notices on site or to pass Welsh-language complaints on promptly. It is far easier to plan for that at tender stage than to scramble once a tenant rings.

When bilingual service is worth the effort

Most UK businesses have no staff beyond the owners: 74% of the 5.6 million private sector businesses at the start of 2026^[3]. Few trade firms can hire for language alone, so it is worth being clear about where Welsh-language service makes a real difference.

• You cover areas where Welsh is widely spoken and many of your customers are older or rural.
• You do repairs or servicing for social landlords, councils or schools in Wales.
• You or a team member already speak Welsh, even informally, and it is not visible to customers.
• Your competitors are all English-only, so a Welsh option sets you apart in a local market.
• You send written information that customers keep, such as safety advice, appliance instructions or care guides.

If none of these applies, a simple bilingual greeting and the offer to arrange a Welsh speaker when needed is a reasonable, respectful starting point.

Simple ways to offer Welsh

Start with the low-effort options and add more only when customers use them. A Welsh option that is advertised but not actually available causes more frustration than not offering it at all.

Phone scripts that work in both languages

Keep the Welsh short and accurate. A greeting such as "Bore da, Ty Gwres, Sian yn siarad. Good morning, Ty Gwres, Sian speaking" signals that Welsh is welcome without slowing English callers down. If the caller replies in Welsh and you cannot continue, say so warmly in English and offer a call-back: "I'm sorry, my Welsh is limited. Would you like one of our Welsh-speaking team to ring you back this afternoon?"

1. 01

   Greet bilingually

   Use the same short greeting on every call and on the voicemail, so callers learn to expect it.

2. 02

   Follow the caller's lead

   If they continue in Welsh and you can, carry on in Welsh. If they switch to English, follow them without comment.

3. 03

   Offer, do not insist

   If you cannot continue in Welsh, offer a call-back from a Welsh speaker and give a time, as you would for any other call-back.

4. 04

   Record the preference

   Add "Prefers Welsh" to the customer record so the next call, reminder and invoice can follow suit.

5. 05

   Brief the engineer

   Tell the engineer before the visit. A few words of Welsh at the door are appreciated even if the rest of the visit is in English.

Written Welsh: get it checked

Machine translation is fine for understanding an incoming Welsh email, but risky for anything you send. Safety instructions, carbon monoxide warnings, cancellation terms and anything a customer may rely on later should be written or checked by a fluent speaker. A mistranslated instruction about isolating a supply is worse than none.

Welsh on your website and listings

Customers looking for a Welsh-speaking tradesperson usually search before they call. If you offer Welsh, say so where they look: a line on your home page and contact page, a note on your map listing and directory profiles, and the Welsh greeting on your voicemail. A full bilingual website is a bigger project; a short Welsh page that explains what you do, the areas you cover and how to book in Welsh is often enough to start.

Add a preferred-language field to your enquiry form and booking flow, and make sure the answer reaches the person who replies. The worst outcome is a customer who chose Welsh on the form and then receives an English-only reply with no explanation.

The Cynnig Cymraeg (Welsh Offer)

The Welsh Language Commissioner runs the Cynnig Cymraeg, recognition for businesses and charities with a strong plan for their Welsh-language services. The Commissioner's Hybu team helps an organisation draw up a Welsh Language Development Plan and identify at least five key Welsh-language services; the organisation then applies for recognition and, once approved, can use the Cynnig Cymraeg logo^[4]. For a trade business, those services might be a bilingual greeting, a Welsh-speaking contact, bilingual confirmations, bilingual invoices and bilingual van signage.

The value is less the logo than the discipline: writing down what you offer, telling customers clearly, and making sure it is actually delivered.

Supporting the Welsh speakers in your team

Many firms have a Welsh speaker already, often an apprentice, an engineer or a family member who helps in the office. Ask them whether they are comfortable taking Welsh calls, and respect a no; some people speak Welsh at home but feel less confident with technical or written Welsh. Where they agree, put their name on the call-back rota for Welsh enquiries and give them time to do it.

If you want to build confidence, the Commissioner points organisations towards learning options through the National Centre for Learning Welsh^[4]. Even a few phrases learnt by the whole team, such as greetings and thanks, make Welsh-speaking customers feel welcome.

Example: an electrician in Gwynedd

Example (fictional). A two-person electrical firm near Caernarfon has always worked bilingually on site, because the owner grew up speaking Welsh, but the website, voicemail and invoices were English-only. Customers who preferred Welsh would only discover it once the van arrived. The owner adds a bilingual voicemail, a language choice on the enquiry form and checked bilingual booking confirmations.

Within a season, the firm notices that more older customers and a local primary school book directly rather than through relatives. Nothing about the work has changed; the firm has simply made visible a service it already had.