Disproportionate burden assessment - jobs site

The disproportionate burden assessment for our jobs application site.

On

Scope

As of September 2018, accessibility legislation states that public sector websites, including job pages, must publish content in an accessible format.

Both accessibility statements remain available, to accommodate for this cross-over.

This website is run by The University of Sheffield. We want as many people as possible to be able to use it. 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 a keyboard or speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, 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.

Disproportionate burden assessment for jobs advertised before 9 December 2024

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible such as (access full report PDF):

  • Checkbox element cannot be activated with keyboard
  • Interactive element cannot be activated with screen reader
  • Links indicated using colour alone
  • Information images have no alt attribute
  • Decorative images have no alt attribute
  • Reflow requires users to scroll in multiple directions

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The University of Sheffield 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

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances shown in the report (access the full report PDF).

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Access the accessibility problems and view failing WCAG 2.1 requirements (access the full report PDF).

The University of Sheffield has approved and commenced a full replacement of the eRecruitment system project on 24 June 2024, with the implementation of the new eRecruitment system planned at the end of 2024. The new eRecruitment system meets the WCAG 2.1 AA standards.  The eRecruitment project comprises a project team of IT Services, HR and departmental representatives plus external consultants from June 2024 to January 2025.

Disproportionate burden assessment for jobs advertised before 9 December 2024

Our current eRecruitment system is dated legacy technology and therefore would require a significant amount of time and effort to address the wide range of accessibility changes.

The estimated time required to fix the issues is approximately 520 hours over six months as the issues identified are not custom issues and would require external support.

Due to the age of this technology SAP have instead prioritised SuccessFactors Recruiting and declared the on-premise eRecruiting product end of life.  

Due to the scale of the work, the need for external support and staff from across the University to address the non-compliant job web page content it is not feasible to make the current system WCAG 2.1 AA compliant before 12 July 2024, whilst undertaking a full implementation of a replacement eRecruitment system and doing so would be a disproportionate burden.

The replacement eRecruitment project completed on 16 December 2024.

The University of Sheffield has significantly invested in the replacement eRecruitment project to deliver an enhanced recruitment experience for future candidates using the latest technology and to meet the accessibility standards.

Preparation of disproportionate burden assessment for jobs advertised before 9 December 2024

This website was last tested on 21 June 2024 against the WCAG 2.1 AA standard. The test was carried out by AbilityNet in June 2024.

You can read the full accessibility test report (read the full report PDF).

Disproportionate burden assessment for jobs advertised after 16 December 2024

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible such as (access full report PDF):

  • Decorative image has redundant text alternative
  • Informative image has inappropriate text alternative
  • Heading semantics used inappropriately
  • Regular text does not have sufficient contrast on hover
  • Custom focus indication fails contrast
  • Interactive elements do not have a permanent label
  • Menu semantics used inappropriately
  • Missing or malformed ARIA on non-collapsible listbox

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The University of Sheffield 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

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances shown in the report (access full report PDF).

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Access the accessibility problems and view failing WCAG 2.2 requirements (PDF, 3.7MB) 

Disproportionate burden assessment for jobs advertised after 16 December 2024

The University of Sheffield implemented the new recruitment system on 16 December 2024 to provide an enhanced recruitment experience for future candidates and address the previously identified accessibility issues.

The new system uses the latest technology to deliver an improved end user experience and provides efficiencies throughout the recruitment process.

The issues raised during the audit undertaken in November 2024 are under review and due to be addressed during the project ‘hypercare phase’ and if not resolved will be added to the improvement backlog plan and future roadmap.

Issues requiring SAP roadmap and release support will be championed via the SAP customer influencing campaigns.

Preparation of disproportionate burden assessment for jobs advertised after 16 December 2024

This statement was reviewed and updated on 16 December 2024, following the implementation of the new jobs site.

The new site has been retested by AbilityNet against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard between 13 and 15 November 2024.

Read the updated accessibility test report

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018. Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

What we're doing to improve accessibility

The University of Sheffield HR three-year roadmap incorporates the eRecruitment project and future accessibility improvements including post implementation system updates and releases in line with the latest WCAG standards and requirements. This roadmap will ensure all candidates will be able to use an accessible job webpage and access content in an accessible format.

Accessibility is a fundamental part of all future career web page changes. This includes new web content templates and developing new functionality to meet accessibility standards.

We are also increasing knowledge of accessibility across the organisation to improve accessible content management.

Feedback and contact information

If you find any problems not listed on this page or included in this report or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact: jobs@sheffield.ac.uk to report these issues.

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, email jobs@sheffield.ac.uk

We’ll consider your request and get back to you.

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).

Related information

Contacting us

You can contact us via our feedback form if you have any problems. Be as specific and detailed as you can, and please also tell us what you like and find useful.

Complete the feedback form

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