Union members from non-English speaking backgrounds will have an easier time accessing quality legal help thanks to a new service launched by Slater & Gordon.

Slater & Gordon now has a free hotline where non-English speaking workers can access legal information in any language.

Slater & Gordon’s leading industrial lawyer Marcus Clayton said workers from non-English speaking backgrounds could call the firm’s hotline, for free and without obligation, and get help straight away in Greek, Italian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic or Vietnamese.

“If we don’t have anyone who can speak in a certain language immediately, we’ll find someone who does, and give them a call back.”

He said union members could utilise the new hotline and other services to seek legal advice on all of the areas of law covered by Slater & Gordon such as workers compensation, family law, medical law, personal injuries and wills and estate planning.

Mr Clayton said the firm recognised that people from non-English speaking backgrounds often struggled to access legal help.

“Slater & Gordon has a long history of social justice and our aim is to be able to help anyone living in Australia who needs legal assistance, regardless of their background, financial status, or the language they speak at home.”

Mr Clayton said the cultural matching service, which was also being offered, was a unique approach of selecting lawyers to match their clients. It works by matching lawyers and clients based on the similarity of their language, background and ethnicity.

He said Slater & Gordon had also demonstrated its commitment to cultural awareness by rolling out online cross-communication multicultural training to all staff.

To access the free Multilingual Legal Help Line, simply phone 1800 659 905.