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:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts
- zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
- navigate the website using speech recognition software (including the most recent version of Dragon and VoiceControl)
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent version of NVDA and 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:
- on some pages, the error links will not take the user to the input field that is causing the error
- on some pages, the change link will not take the user to intended input fields
- on some pages, the input field has multiple labels which may cause difficulties for users of assistive technology
- on some pages, the ARIA label exists for missing or non-existing elements
- on some pages, user can tab into non-functional elements
- on some pages, the page title and page heading are not the same which may cause confusion to screen reader users
- on some pages, id attributes are not unique which may cause difficulties for screen readers to identify the associated elements
- the error messages on reporting screens will not be recognised by speech recognition tools like Dragon
- screen reader users may experience difficulties with identifying heading, list, tables and reading order as it is not tagged properly in the PDF documents downloaded from the NHS Jobs website
- screen reader users will have difficulties switching to the appropriate language as the primary text language of the PDF document is not specified
- users will have difficulties identifying titles in the downloadable PDF documents
- PDF documents that are downloaded do not follow a logical order when using the Tab or Shift-Tab keys to navigate, which will cause difficulties for users navigating with a keyboard
- PDF documents that are downloaded contains images with no alternate text which will cause difficulties for screen reader users
- 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 needs 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
On some pages, the error links will not take the user to the input field that is causing the error. This fails WCAG success criterion 3.3.1 (Error identification).
On some pages, the change link will not take the user to intended input fields. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.4.7 (Tab Indexes).
On some pages, the input field has multiple labels which may cause difficulties for users of assistive technology.This fails WCAG success criteria 1.3.1 (Info & Relationships), 3.3.2 (Labels or Instructions).
On some pages, the ARIA label exists for missing or non-existing elements. This fails WCAG success criteria 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
On some pages, user can tab into non-functional elements. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard).
On some pages, the page title and page heading are not the same which may cause confusion to screen reader users. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.4.2 (Page Titled).
On some pages, id attributes are not unique which may cause difficulties for screen readers to identify the associated elements. This fails WCAG success criterion 4.1.1 (Parsing).
The error messages on reporting screens will not be recognised by speech recognition tools like Dragon. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 3.3.1 (Error identification) and 3.3.3 (Error suggestion).
Screen reader users may experience difficulties with identifying heading, list, tables and reading order as it is not tagged properly in the PDF documents downloaded from the NHS Jobs website. This fails WCAG success criteria 1.1.1 (Non-text content), 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 1.3.2 (Meaningful Sequence).
Screen reader users will have difficulties to switch to appropriate language as the primary text language of the document is not specified. This fails WCAG success criterion 3.1.1 (Language of Page).
Users will have difficulties identifying titles in the downloadable PDF documents. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.4.2 (Page Titled).
The PDF document(s) that are downloaded do not follow a logical order when using the Tab or Shift-Tab keys to navigate, which will cause difficulties for users navigating with a keyboard. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.4.3 (Focus Order).
The PDF document(s) that are downloaded contains images with no alternate text which will cause difficulties for screen reader users. This fails WCAG success Criteria 1.1.1 (Non-text Content), 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 4.1.2 (Name, role, value).
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 needs 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.
We plan to fix these accessibility issues by September 2023. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure it meets accessibility standards.
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 15 May 2023.
This website was last tested on 24 March 2023. 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 (NVDA and VoiceOver) and standards checklists.
We run representative user journey tests through speech recognition software (Dragon or VoiceControl).
The checklists contain standards that have been compiled using WCAG, NHS service manual and Government Digital Service (GDS) guidance.