This accessibility statement applies to users who advertise and recruit for job vacancies on the NHS Jobs website.
This website is run by the NHS Business Services Authority. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
- zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent version of VoiceOver)
We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible, as:
- users are not able to change colours, contrast levels and fonts
- on some pages, tables have missing row headers and assistive technologies will not read the table contents correctly
- on some pages, form elements have missing fieldset and legend to group multiple radio buttons and checkboxes
- the PDF documents downloaded from the NHS Jobs website are not accessible for those who use assistive technology
- the PDF documents uploaded to the NHS Jobs website are not accessible for those who use assistive technology
- users may find it confusing to select the change link on some pages using a screen reader
- keyboard users may not be able to navigate to and interact with accordions on some pages
- on the Dashboard page, each time a user chooses next option in the dropdown box, the page automatically refreshes and focus is taken back to the beginning of the page which may cause confusion to keyboard and screen reader users.
- some pages may not have labels to explain what input data is expected
- on some pages, speech recognition users may struggle to interact with a field or element by speaking the visual label
- on some pages, the text editor fields have duplicate hidden fields and missing labels which may cause confusion to screen reader and speech recognition users
- on some pages, labels may not sufficiently describe the topic or purpose of the content and cause confusion to screen reader users
- on some pages, the visual layout of text elements have an insufficient colour contrast ratio against background colours
- many features on the website need to be accessibility-reviewed to make sure they’re implemented correctly for users with accessibility needs
- the structure of the pages need to be reviewed to make sure they meet accessibility guidelines
- the use of aria-labels on the website needs to be reviewed to make sure they meet accessibility guidelines
How to request content in an accessible format
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille you can contact us by:
Email: nhsbsa.accessibility@nhs.net
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.
This inbox is only for accessibility queries. This inbox is not for technical queries or IT problems. If you have a query that is not about accessibility, go to the ‘Contact us’ section of this page.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, you can contact us by:
Email: nhsbsa.accessibility@nhs.net
This inbox is only for accessibility queries. This inbox is not for technical queries or IT problems. If you have a query that is not about accessibility, go to the ‘Contact us’ section of this page.
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’).
If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
Contact us
For all queries not accessibility related, you can contact us by:
Email: nhsbsa.nhsjobsenquiries@nhs.net
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
NHS Business Services Authority is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
Compliance status
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
Users are not able to change colours, contrast levels and fonts. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast).
On some pages, some tables do not have row headers. This means assistive technologies will not read the tables correctly. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
On some pages, form elements have missing fieldset and legend to group multiple radio buttons and checkboxes. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
PDF documents downloaded from the NHS Jobs website are not accessible for those who use assistive technology. They fail WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 (Info & Relationships), 1.3.2 (Meaningful Sequence) and 2.4.3 (Focus Order).
PDF documents uploaded to the NHS Jobs website are not accessible for those who use assistive technology. They fail WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 (Info & Relationships), 1.3.2 (Meaningful Sequence) and 2.4.3 (Focus Order).
Users may find it confusing to select the change link on some pages using a screen reader. This fails WCAG success criterion 4.1.1 (Parsing) and 2.1.1 (Keyboard).
Keyboard users may not be able to navigate to and interact with accordions on some pages. This fails WCAG success criterion 4.1.1 (Parsing) and 2.1.1 (Keyboard).
On the Dashboard page, each time a user chooses the next option in the dropdown box, the page automatically refreshes and focus is taken back to the beginning of the page which may cause confusion to keyboard and screen reader users. This fails WCAG success criterion 3.2.2 (On Input).
Some pages may not have labels to explain what input data is expected. This fails WCAG success criterion 3.3.2 (Labels or Instructions).
On some pages, speech recognition users may struggle to interact with a field or element by speaking the visual label. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.5.3 (Label in Name).
On some pages, the text editor fields have duplicate hidden fields and missing labels which may cause confusion to screen reader and speech recognition users. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
On some pages, labels may not sufficiently describe the topic or purpose of the content and cause confusion to screen reader users. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels).
On some pages, the visual layout of text elements have an insufficient colour contrast ratio against background colours. This means that content may be invisible to users who have what we commonly refer to as colour blindness. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast) and 1.4.11 (Non-text Contrast).
We plan to fix these accessibility issues by December 2021. When we publish new content we’ll make sure it meets accessibility standards.
Many features on the website need to be accessibility-reviewed to make sure they’re implemented correctly for users with accessibility needs.
The structure of the website screens need to be reviewed to make sure they meet accessibility guidelines.
The use of aria-labels on the website needs to be reviewed to make sure they meet accessibility guidelines.
Although none of the above directly contravene WCAG 2.1 success criteria, we aim to review these areas by March 2022. This will make sure we meet all accessibility standards on our website.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services, and forms published as Word documents. By May 2021, we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.
Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
Document Upload
Due to an issue with Dragon and some older versions of this assistive technology, users will have difficulties interacting with the document upload buttons. We advise Dragon users to use the mousegrid to interact with the file upload feature.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We’re committed to making sure this website is compliant to WCAG 2.1 ‘AA’ standard.
Our accessibility compliance statement will be reviewed every 6 months. Every new released website will be designed, built and tested to meet ‘AA’ standards by default.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 17 September 2019. It was last reviewed on 29 September 2021.
This website was last tested on 16 September 2021. The test was carried out by NHSBSA test and front-end development teams.
We tested all of the website screens to meet ‘AA’ WCAG 2.1 standards, using manual and automated tests.
We run each webpage through automated Wave, Lighthouse and Axe accessibility tools and then manually test with screen readers (VoiceOver) and standards checklists.
The checklists contain standards that have been compiled using WCAG, NHS service manual and Government Digital Service (GDS) guidance.