This statement applies to content published on the www.employmenttribunalsni.co.uk domain. It does not apply to third party domains hosting employment tribunal services (for example, the online portal for entering tribunal claims and responses).
This website is run by the Office of Industrial Tribunals and Fair Employment Tribunal. It is designed to be used by as many people as possible. The text should be clear and we use the principles of the Plain English Campaign to make our content as simple as possible to understand. You should be able to:
- zoom in up to 300% without problems
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
- navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
- use most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
How accessible this website is
Parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:
- some elements have poor colour contrast
- visible text in search bar needs to be included in HTML label
- some pages have empty headings
- some pages and document attachments are not clearly written
- some documents are in PDF and MS Office formats and are not accessible
How to request content in an accessible format
If you need information in a different format contact us at mail@employmenttribunalsni.org and tell us:
- the web address (URL) of the content
- your name and email address
- the format you need, for example, audio CD, braille, BSL or large print, accessible PDF
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact us by emailing mail@employmenttribunalsni.org and we will investigate the issue.
Enforcement procedure
The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’) in Northern Ireland. If you are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, please contact the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The Office of the Industrial Tribunals and Fair Employment Tribunal 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 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.
Non-accessible content
The content that is not accessible is outlined below with details of:
- the accessibility problem(s)
- where it fails the success criteria, and
- when we plan to fix the problem.
Developer issues
A number of accessibility issues are related to the underlying Drupal content management system (CMS) and will require developer and web design input.
These include but not are limited to the following:
- Text on images not matching (WCAG2.0, Level A, 1.1.1 and Level A 2.5.3)
- Use of colour alone to show different links (WCAG 2.0, Level A 1.4.1)
- Contrast issues. (WCAG 2.1, Level A, 1.4.11)
- No visible focus on search button when tabbed. (WCAG 2.0, Level A, 2.1.1, AA, 2.4.7)
- No Skip to Content link (WCAG 2.0, Level A, 1.4.1)
- Empty headings (WCAG 2.0, Level A, 2.4.6)
- Duplicate labels in search results (WCAG 2.0, Level AA, 2.4.6)
Our underlying content management system is due to be upgraded from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8. It is our intention to address these issues during that upgrade which is expected to be completed by September 2021.
PDFs and other documents
Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services. By the end of November 2020, we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.
Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
Disproportionate burden
Not applicable.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
As a website published before 23 September 2018, we are required to comply with the web accessibility regulations from 23 September 2020.
However, some of our content is exempt from the accessibility regulations:
- PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 - unless required for the use of a service, for example a form.
If you have any problems using this website, email us at mail@employmenttribunalsni.org and we will investigate the issue and/or provide you with the information you need in an alternative format.
How we tested this website
This website was tested for compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 level A and level AA, and these tests have been carried out externally and independently.
We used the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) approach to deciding on a sample of pages to test.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We plan to identify and fix issues according to the timescales shown for each area above.
We conduct quarterly reviews of content and accessibility will be one of the areas that we check. We conform to the Northern Ireland Civil Service web style guide for all our HTML content.
In addition, we have added the following procedures to our content creation process:
- we use Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat Pro accessibility checkers to identify problems and fix these before publication
- we have incorporated WCAG 2.1 requirements into design and print contracts to ensure professionally produced documents meet the standards
- where branches commission reports from external bodies, they are required to make WCAG 2.1 standards part of the contract specification
- we have made accessibility guidance available on our staff intranet for all staff drafting web content
- we will publish in HTML format as a first option whenever feasible.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 9 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 21 September 2020.