This accessibility statement applies to Submit a request to NHS Recruitment Services
This website is run by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). 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 using browser or device settings
- zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard or speech recognition software (Voice Control and Dragon)
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent version of NVDA, JAWS and Voice Over)
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, related form fields, such as textboxes, are not properly grouped, which makes it harder for screen reader users to understand
- a timeout warning is not displayed to users. This means users cannot extend their session or cancel the timeout
- when the screen reader JAWS focuses on the hyperlink “Skip to main content”, JAWS reads the page title
- when the screen reader NVDA selects the hyperlink “Skip to main content”, NVDA reads the “Go back” link.
- screen reader users may find the “Upload document” button difficult to use, as it is not clear that it needs to be pressed more than once after selecting a file
- when an error message is displayed screen reader users may find it difficult to fix the error because the focus does not move to the actionable field
- the third-party pages do not currently meet AA standards, meaning they are not fully accessible
Feedback and contact information
Contact us if you need information about this website in a different format, such as accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille. We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 5 working days.
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 using the same email address:
Email: accessibility@nhsbsa.nhs.uk
This email address is only for accessibility queries. It is not for technical queries or IT problems. If you have a query that is not about accessibility, you can contact us by:
Email: nhs.recruitment-services@nhsbsa.nhs.uk
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).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The NHSBSA 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 2.2 AA standard 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, related form fields, such as textboxes, are not properly grouped, which makes it harder for screen reader users to understand. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)
A timeout warning is not displayed to users. This means that users cannot extend their session or cancel the timeout. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.2.6 (Timeouts).
When the screen reader JAWS focuses on the hyperlink “Skip to main content”, JAWS reads the page title. This fails WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 2.4.3 Focus Order
When the screen reader NVDA selects the hyperlink “Skip to main content”, NVDA reads the “Go back” link. This fails WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 2.4.3 Focus Order
Screen reader users may find the “Upload document” button difficult to use as it is not clear that it needs to be pressed more than once after selecting a file. This fails WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value)
When an error message is displayed screen reader users may find it difficult to fix the error because the focus does not move to the actionable field This fails WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 4.1.2 – (Name, Role, Value)
The third-party pages do not currently meet AA standards, meaning they are not fully accessible because of the following issues.
On some pages, the colours of the text and important visuals don’t stand out enough from the background, making them hard to see for people with vision problems such as colour blindness or low vision. This fails WCAG 2.2 success Criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast)
On some pages, form labels, headings, lists, and tables are not set up correctly, making it hard for screen readers to understand the content. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)
Some parts of the website only work with a mouse or touchpad and don’t allow users to use the keyboard properly or have shortcut keys that cause problems. This fails WCAG 2.2 success Criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard)
Some pages only display when JavaScript is disabled, and some pictures or alerts lack clear descriptions, making them difficult to understand for screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success Criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content)
On some pages, buttons and links are too small or too close together, so they’re hard to click. This fails WCAG 2.2 success Criterion 2.5.5 (Target Size)
On some pages, ID names are not unique, and some elements don’t work if JavaScript is disabled. This fails WCAG 2.2 success Criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value)
Some pages have links to Word or PDF files that not everyone can open, and some titles repeat content, which can confuse screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success Criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context)
On some pages, keyboard shortcuts are the same, which can confuse users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success Criterion 2.1.4 (Character Key Shortcuts)
When the "Skip to main content" hyperlink is selected and then the user presses the Tab key, instead of moving focus to the page logo and title, the “Skip to footer” link appears, making navigation difficult for keyboard and screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success Criterion 2.4.1 (Bypass Blocks)
Users cannot log into the service if JavaScript is disabled. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1 (Compatible)
Some screens contain images with irrelevant or no alternative text. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content)
On some pages the heading hierarchy is incorrect, and labels are not available.
This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6 (Heading and Labels)
Some screens contain Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) attributes that have been applied incorrectly which causes difficulties for assistive technology users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.1.1 (Non-text Content), 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
On some screens the page title is not unique. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.2 (Page Titled).
The purpose of each link on the third-party login screens cannot be determined from the link text alone. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.4 (Link Purpose in Context).
On the Password reset page, unlabelled form control with title is present. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.1.1(Non-text Content), 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), 2.4.6 (Heading and Labels), 3.3.2 (Labels or Instructions).
On the Password reset page, some elements have a tab-index greater than zero. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 (Focus Order).
On the Password reset page, a table layout contains the form fields and buttons. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 1.3.2 (Meaningful Sequences).
On the Password reset page, the presence of an inaccessible audio captcha makes it difficult to navigate. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.3.8 (Accessible Authentication (Minimum)).
Some elements on the login screens are not contained within landmarks which makes it difficult for some screen reader users to navigate to various sections of a page. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 2.4.1 (Bypass Blocks).
On some pages, the audio mode and reload buttons are displayed in pop-up on mouse hover. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.13 (Content on Hover or Focus).
Some links on the login screens cannot be opened with speech recognition directly. The ‘show numbers’ or ‘show grid’ command can be used to access the input fields instead. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1 (Compatible).
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
External links
Some links from the website will direct users to external websites where accessibility issues have been identified. This may cause difficulties for users with accessibility needs or those that use assistive technologies.
We’ll review the usage of these links before our next accessibility review and contact these third parties to identify the issues we have found.
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 mouse grid feature to interact with the file upload functionality.
Although these do not fail WCAG 2.2 success criteria, we aim to review these areas. This will make sure we meet all accessibility standards on our website.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We’re committed to making sure this website is compliant to WCAG 2.2 ‘AA’ standard.
Our accessibility compliance statement will be reviewed regularly. Every newly released website will be designed, built, and tested to meet ‘AA’ standards by default.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was originally prepared on 30th July 2025. It was last reviewed on 7th October 2025
This website was last tested on 8th July 2025 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.
The test was carried out by the NHSBSA test and development teams. The most viewed pages were tested using automated testing tools by our website team. A further audit of the website was carried out to the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.
We tested all the website screens to meet ‘AA’ WCAG 2.2 standards, using manual and automated tests.
We run each webpage through automated Wave, Lighthouse and Axe accessibility tools then manually test with screen readers (NVDA, JAWS and Voice Over) and standards checklists.
We run representative user journey tests through speech recognition software (Dragon or Voice Control).
These checklists contain standards that have been compiled using WCAG, the NHS service manual and the Government Digital Service (GDS) guidance.