Introduction
The PPF is committed to meeting the requirements of the Equality Act 2010. Our on-ongoing endeavour
is to help
make the site as open and available as possible to everyone.
As part of our commitment this website has been built along internationally recognised accessibility
guidelines
produced by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
Wherever possible we have captioned all non-textual content with ALT tags and provided an HTML
version of content
on this website. This site also uses 'portable document format' (.pdf) files on our booklets page.
In order to
view our booklets you might need Adobe Acrobat Reader software
depending on the browser you are using. This software is included on many systems but if it is not
on yours you
can download it for free.
Navigation
We’ve made sure that the different pages on our website are easy to locate and identify. This
includes
navigation menus, links, and text sections which are predictably and consistently located across the
site.
Browser Customisation
Browser customisation is a way of adjusting content on the web to make it more accessible for you. If
you
navigate to the tools or settings options in your browser you should be able to do the following:
- Adjust text size
- Prevent graphics and images from appearing
- Change the colour of links displayed
Text Size
You can change the text size to make it either larger or smaller via your browser settings. Some
browsers will
allow you to magnify the whole page. You can also adjust text size by pressing down the
ctrl
button and using the + and –
keys on your keyboard to increase or decrease screen size.
Text to Speech
Many computers and mobile devices today have built in text-to-speech software. We have made every
effort to code
content on the website properly, for example by including alt tags, so that all of the functionality
of
text-to-speech software used by screen readers works well on this website.
Keyboard Input
Many people rely on the keyboard to interact with the Web, so we’ve made sure that this website
offers
keyboard
access to all functionality, including form controls, input, and other user interface components.
If you have ideas about how we can make this website more accessible please don’t
hesitate to get
in touch.
How accessible our online services are
We regularly check our online services to ensure they are as accessible as possible. Users
may
experience some accessibility issues while using the site, these include:
- images not having alternative text
- heading elements are structured differently/incorrectly
- form labels not associated with their input elements
- mandatory form fields not being identified clearly enough
- components on some pages are not accessible via keyboard only
- poor colour contrast on headers and while hovering over links
- links not having meaningful text (e.g. ‘Click Here’)
- controls not having an obvious role and state
What to do if you cannot access parts of our online services
Please contact us should you need information located on our websites in a different format
like
accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille.
Reporting accessibility problems
If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility
requirements, please
let us know.
Technical information about our online services and accessibility
The Pension Protection Fund is committed to making its online services accessible. Our websites are
partially
compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. Listed below are areas
that require
improvement and when we plan to rectify them.
Non compliance with the accessibility regulations
| Problem identified |
WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria |
When we plan to fix it |
|
Various images require alt attributes.
|
1.1.1 (non-text content) |
By December 2021 |
|
The radio buttons need to be appropriately labelled.
Headings need to be better structured.
Personal details preceding Retire Online should not be displayed in a
table.
Radio buttons to select the scheme need accessible labels/names.
|
1.3.1 (information, structure and relationships) |
By December 2021 |
|
Some sections need the container width restricted which can be done through
CSS.
|
1.3.2 meaningful sequence |
By December 2021 |
|
Some instances of the word ‘below’ are contextually
incorrect.
Wherever ‘Loading…. Please Wait’ is displayed it needs to be
read out
for screen reader users.
|
1.3.3 sensory characteristics |
By December 2021 |
|
Help pop-outs aren’t next to the icon so cannot be accessed by
keyboard,
The radio buttons, close buttons and check buttons throughout the site do not have
a visible
focus indicator.
|
1.4.13 (content on hover or focus) |
By December 2021 |
|
Various instances of colour contrast need to be fixed (insufficient
contrast).
Adjacent text needs to be at least 3:1.
|
1.4.3 (colour contrast) |
By December 2021 |
| Problems arise in some fields when NVDA screen read is activated. When NVDA
is activated on Chrome and Edge, pressing space or enter did not expand the
menu.
|
2.1.1 (keyboard navigation) |
By December 2021 |
|
The system timed out after notifying the user.
|
2.2.1 (timing adjustable) |
By December 2021 |
|
‘Skip to content’ links need to be inserted
|
2.4.1 (bypass blocks) |
By December 2021 |
|
Various instances of ‘Click here’ which is not a descriptive name
for a link,
requires rephrasing.
Instances of the image and heading link being links to the same location but
are separate
link elements.
The ‘Greater than’ symbol used on occasion needs to be
removed.
|
2.4.4 (link purpose (in context)) |
By December 2021 |
|
Declaration errors need to be better referenced during the registration
process.
Where fields are mandatory it would be useful to provide each field’s
label in any
error reported.
|
3.3.1 (error identification) |
By December 2021 |
|
Replace uses of asterisks with (required).
The date of birth dropdowns throughout the site do not have labels associated
with
them.
Throughout Retire Online the labels for each checkbox are identical
to each
other.
|
3.3.2 (labels or instructions) |
By December 2021 |
|
Utilise ‘aria-expanded’ which will inform screen reader users that
content has been
displayed.
The Retire Online progress bar requires accessible text to indicate
state.
|
4.1.2 name, role, value |
By December 2021 |
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
We're currently running an accessibility audit on the forms and PDFs that are downloadable from the site
and will
publish the results as soon as possible.
How we tested this website
Our sites were last checked by a company called Civica (using the SortSite software) in January
2021.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We’re continually reviewing and improving accessibility on our site. If you are having problems
viewing any
part of the site please contact us.
A selection of useful organisations who may be able to advise or support in various capacties.