Accessibility statement

A job board that some people cannot use is a job board that shuts them out of work. This statement says what we tested, what we found, what we fixed and what is still not right. It is a record of an audit, not a promise.

This statement applies to the whole of www.hiringuk.co.uk, run by HIRINGUK LTD.

1. The standard we hold ourselves to

We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 at level AA, which includes everything in 2.1 AA. We are not a public sector body, so the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018 do not apply to us. We follow the standard anyway, because the Equality Act 2010 requires us to make reasonable adjustments and because it is the right way to build.

2. What we tested, and how

Audited on 28 August 2026 against WCAG 2.2 AA, by internal review. What that involved:

• An automated sweep of 600 pages, reached by crawling the site rather than hand picked, checking every page for a page language, exactly one main heading, heading levels in order, a main landmark, a skip link, alternative text on every image, an accessible name on every link, form controls with real labels, tables with header cells, and input purpose on fields that ask for your own details.
• Every colour combination in the design calculated against the AA contrast ratio, twenty pairs in all: body text, muted text, links, headings, buttons, tags, form labels, the hero, the footer, and the success, warning and error messages.
• Keyboard only navigation of the main journeys: searching, reading an advert, applying with a CV, setting a job alert, registering as an employer, posting an advert and paying.
• Browser zoom to 200 percent and a 320 pixel wide viewport, checking that nothing is lost or cut off and that no horizontal scrolling is needed.
• A screen reader over the same journeys, and testing with animation turned off at the operating system level.

3. What the audit found, and what we did

Four problems, all fixed on the day of the audit, before this statement was published:

After the fixes, the same 600 page sweep came back with no failures on any of those checks, and every colour pair passes AA, most of them comfortably.

4. Why there is no accessibility button in the corner of this site

You will have seen them: a small round icon, bottom left or bottom right, that opens a panel offering high contrast, bigger text, a screen reader, colour changes. They are called accessibility overlays, and several recruitment sites use one. We have decided against it, and this is the reasoning, because a decision like that should be arguable rather than silent.

• An overlay does not change the page underneath it. It is a script that sits on top and tries to patch what it finds. If a button has no label in the markup, the label is still missing when the widget is closed, and it is missing for everybody who never opens the widget, which is almost everybody.
• People who rely on assistive technology have asked for them to stop. Screen reader users report overlays fighting with the software they already use and have configured. Somebody who has spent years setting up their own tools does not want a website overriding them.
• The claims made for them have been found to be false in law. In January 2025 the United States Federal Trade Commission ordered the largest overlay vendor to pay one million dollars over claims that its product automatically made websites conform to the accessibility guidelines, and over reviews that were presented as independent when they were not. The final order bars it from repeating the compliance claim without evidence.
• It would contradict something else we promise. An overlay is a third party script that loads on every page. We refuse like buttons and follow widgets for exactly that reason, and it would be a strange rule that kept out a share button and let in a much larger script.
• And it would be an admission. A button offering to fix the page is a statement that the page needs fixing. The work belongs in the markup: real headings, real labels, real focus order, contrast that passes without anybody pressing anything, and a keyboard route through every form. That is what sections 1 to 3 above are about, and it is harder and slower and it is the only version that works for the person who never finds the button.

None of this means a site using one is acting in bad faith. Most are trying to do the right thing and were sold a shortcut. It means we do not think the shortcut arrives where it says it does, and if you use assistive technology and disagree with us, we would genuinely like to hear it: hello@hiringuk.co.uk.

5. What we believe is right today

• Every page works with the keyboard alone, in a sensible order, with a clearly visible focus outline and a skip to content link.
• Every image carries alternative text and every decorative graphic is hidden from screen readers.
• Every form field has a label attached to it. Errors are described in words at the top of the form, not signalled by a red border alone.
• Nothing depends on colour alone to carry meaning.
• Text resizes to 200 percent and the layout works down to a 320 pixel screen without losing anything.
• Every control is large enough to hit on a phone, and form fields are set at 16 pixels so that tapping one does not zoom the page.
• There is no auto playing audio or video, no flashing content, no carousel that moves on its own and no time limit on any form.
• Animation is switched off automatically if you have asked your device to reduce motion.
• Every page prints cleanly, and every policy is available as a PDF that opens in your browser.

6. What is still not fully accessible

Being honest about the gaps is part of the standard:

• CVs and documents uploaded by other people. A CV attached by a candidate, or a logo uploaded by an employer, is outside our control and may not be accessible. We cannot fix somebody else's file.
• Advert text written by employers. Employers write their own adverts. Some paste in text with poor structure, headings in capital letters, or a wall of text with no paragraphs. We ask for better in the advert rules and we will edit an advert on request, but we do not rewrite adverts by default.
• Our own PDFs are not tagged. The policy PDFs are generated from the live text and read correctly in a normal PDF reader, but they are not tagged to the PDF/UA standard, so a screen reader will handle them less well than a web page. Everything in every PDF is also a normal web page on this site, which is fully accessible, so nothing is only available as a PDF. If you need any document in another format, large print or plain text included, ask and we will send it within one working day.
• Very long filtered listings can be tiring to move through with a screen reader when a search returns hundreds of adverts. Narrowing by town or sector helps, and we are working on better skip points within results.

7. If something blocks you, tell us

Email hello@hiringuk.co.uk and say which page you were on and what happened. We reply within one working day.

If any part of this site stops you applying for a job, do not give up on the job. Email us your CV and the advert you want, and we will submit the application to that employer for you, at no cost, and confirm to you that we have. That is a standing offer, not a favour.

If you need a document in another format, tell us which one and we will produce it.

8. If we do not put it right

Complain to us first through the complaints procedure: we acknowledge within 2 working days and respond fully within 10. If you are not satisfied, the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) advises on the Equality Act 2010, including access to services, free of charge.

9. Keeping this statement true

This statement was prepared on 25 August 2026 and last reviewed and retested on 28 August 2026.

We review it at least once every twelve months, and again whenever we make a significant change to the site, whichever comes first. The next scheduled review is August 2027. When we retest, we record the date here and list anything new we found, so this page shows the real state of the site rather than the state we would like it to be in. As the site grows we intend to commission an external audit, and we will say so here when we do.