AceLeads legal
Accessibility statement
Looking for work is hard enough. If this site is the thing stopping you, that is our fault and we want to know about it.
1. What we are building to
The target is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 at level AA.
This site is not run by a public body, so the public sector accessibility regulations do not apply to it. The duty that does apply is the one in the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments, and it is the more demanding of the two in practice, because it is about whether a particular person can actually use the thing rather than whether a checklist passed.
2. What is already in place
A skip link, and one main landmark on every page
The first thing a keyboard reaches on any page is a link that jumps past the navigation to the content.
Visible focus on everything you can reach with a keyboard
A focus outline with an offset, so it is visible against both the white background and the tinted panels.
Tap targets of at least 44 pixels
Every button and form field carries a minimum height rather than relying on whatever the text happens to produce.
Real labels on every form field
Not placeholder text pretending to be a label, which disappears the moment you start typing and takes the question with it.
Errors described in words
A failed field says what is wrong next to the field, and the message is associated with the input rather than floating near it.
Text that reflows
The layout works at phone width and when text is enlarged, without a horizontal scrollbar appearing.
The page language is set
Marked as British English, so a screen reader pronounces it as such.
3. What has not been tested
Nothing on this site has been tested by a disabled user, by an accessibility specialist, or by anybody other than the people who built it. No audit has been done. We are not claiming conformance with anything, because a conformance claim that nobody has checked is just a sentence.
What section 2 lists is what the code does. Whether that adds up to a site you can actually use is a different question and it has not been answered yet.
[NEEDS HUMAN SIGN-OFF] Get the built site tested against WCAG 2.2 AA before launch, including the anti-spam challenge and the registration form with its long option lists, then replace this section with what the testing found. Include at least one test by someone who uses a screen reader daily rather than only an automated scan.
4. Where we expect problems
Naming these in advance is more useful than discovering them in a complaint.
The anti-spam check on forms
Every form carries a challenge from a third party. It usually passes without the person doing anything, but when it does not, the fallback is outside our control and is a known difficulty for some disabled users. If it ever blocks you from applying for a job, that is a serious fault and we want to hear about it the same day.
Job lists that load after the page
Vacancy lists are fetched after the page arrives, so that a new advert appears without the site being rebuilt. That pattern can leave a screen reader announcing nothing while results change underneath. Getting the loading and results announcements right is a specific thing to test, not something to assume.
Long option lists
Choosing areas means choosing from a list of every local authority we cover. That is a lot of options, and it is the part of the registration form most likely to be exhausting with a keyboard or a screen reader.
Documents you upload
We accept a CV as a file and pass it to the employer as it is. We do not check whether that file is itself accessible, and we cannot change it.
5. Telling us
Email us and describe what happened. You do not need to know the name of the problem, and you do not need to tell us what browser or software you use, although it helps if you know. "I could not get past the box that checks you are a person" is a perfectly good report.
If something here stops you applying for a job, tell us and we will get your application to that employer another way. Nobody should lose a job application to a form that did not work.
[NEEDS HUMAN SIGN-OFF] Set up the reporting address, decide the response time, and decide who is responsible for the alternative route when someone cannot complete an application. A promise with nobody behind it is worse than no promise.
6. If we do not fix it
Come back to us first if you are willing to. If we do not put it right, the Equality Advisory and Support Service gives free advice about the Equality Act, including where a website is the barrier. The Equality and Human Rights Commission is the regulator behind that duty.
[NEEDS HUMAN SIGN-OFF] Check the current names and contact routes for both services at the date this is published.