Accessibility improvements to Jobs at Bath Spa

The Jobs at Bath Spa website was recently tested for accessibility compliance by the Government Digital Service and a number of issues were found. Below is a summary of these and a number of other issues that have now been resolved during July and August 2024.

Homepage issues

WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible

No visible focus on the 'View Jobs' button below the 'Work at Bath Spa University' heading.

No visible focus on the 'All Locations' and 'All Departments' select elements in the 'Current Vacancies' section.

Visible focus has now been added to these elements.

WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow

At 400% zoom the top of the cookie banner is cut off. At 400% zoom or on a small screen (320x256) most of the content in the 'Cookie Preferences' pop-out that is available when the user clicks the 'Settings' button in the cookie banner, such as the 'Strictly necessary cookies' expandable button', is no longer available.

The cookie banner and notice now work correctly when viewed at 400% zoom or on a small screen (320x256).

WCAG 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide

The slider below the 'We asked our teams...' heading cannot be paused, stopped or hidden.

The slider has been modified so that it does not auto scroll. The user can only advance the slides manually by clicking the dots below the content.

WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum):

The 'Search...' placeholder text in the input box below the 'Current Vacancies' heading does not have sufficient colour contrast.

All placeholder text has been updated to meet sufficient colour contrast levels.

Tab order lost in video player (Not on GDS list)

Video player embed visible focus lost - Not on the GDS audit list, but the tab order focus is lost for 5 clicks somewhere in the video player.

Video player code was causing a tab order issue. The video has been temporarily removed until further development work can be done to solve this issue.

Apply for a job page issues

WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard

The 'Save this application for later' link below the 'Submit Application' heading cannot be accessed using the keyboard.

Users can now access the 'Save this application for later' link using just the keyboard and it now shows focus.

WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible

There is no visible focus on the 'Submit Application' button below the 'Submit Application' heading.

All the blue buttons have been adjusted so that they better show focus.

WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow

At 400% zoom the top of the cookie banner is cut off. At 400% zoom or on a small screen (320x256) most of the content in the 'Cookie Preferences' pop-out that is available when the user clicks the 'Settings' button in the cookie banner, such as the 'Strictly necessary cookies' expandable button', is no longer available.

The cookie banner and notice now work correctly when viewed at 400% zoom or on a small screen (320x256).

WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum)

The placeholder text in the input boxes, such as 'First Name', the 'Yes' & 'No' tick boxes, such as the ones below 'Do you live in the UK?' and the 'Please Select' options in the select elements, such as 'Which one of the following best describes your gender?', in the form do not have sufficient colour contrast.

All placeholder text has been updated to meet sufficient colour contrast levels.

Job page issues

WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible

Blue buttons - There is no visible focus on the two 'Apply Now' buttons.

Hiring process slider needs visible focus.

At 200% & 400% zoom there is no visible focus on the carousel controls on the slider below the 'Our Hiring Process' heading.

All the blue buttons have been adjusted so that they better show focus.

The indicator buttons on the hiring process slider now show focus when tabbed to using the keyboard.

WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow

At 400% zoom the top of the cookie banner is cut off. At 400% zoom or on a small screen (320x256) most of the content in the 'Cookie Preferences' pop-out that is available when the user clicks the 'Settings' button in the cookie banner, such as the 'Strictly necessary cookies' expandable button', is no longer available.

The cookie banner and notice now work correctly when viewed at 400% zoom or on a small screen (320x256).

WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum): Elements must have sufficient colour contrast.

The blue headings, such as 'Application Deadline' and the grey text, such as 'September 30, 2024', in the sidebar do not have sufficient colour contrast.

The blue headings in the grey info box have been changed so they now have sufficient colour contrast.

1.3.1 Info and Relationships

Not on the GDS audit list but also found when testing - dl elements are not structured correctly when rendered in mobile. Divs are added in places they shouldn't be. This is incorrect markup and will cause issues for screen readers.

This code has now been fixed.

Privacy policy page issues

WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow

At 400% zoom the top of the cookie banner is cut off. At 400% zoom or on a small screen (320x256) most of the content in the 'Cookie Preferences' pop-out that is available when the user clicks the 'Settings' button in the cookie banner, such as the 'Strictly necessary cookies' expandable button', is no longer available.

The cookie banner and notice now work correctly when viewed at 400% zoom or on a small screen (320x256).

Sample Job Description PDF issue

WCAG 2.4.2 Page titled

The page title is missing from the document settings in the Job Description tested.

The HR team have now had PDF accessibility training. All live Job Description PDFs have been checked and updated for accessibility compliance.