Accessibility statement for the LAURA™ recruitment system

In carrying out digital online services, the Act on the Provision of Digital Services obliges to follow the accessibility requirements. The aim is to guarantee that everyone has a chance to use digital services equally regardless of, for example, seeing or hearing related limitations.

This accessibility statement applies to the LAURA™ recruitment system. It was created on June 25, 2020, and updated on September 10, 2020. We have evaluated the accessibility of the service ourselves.

Status of service accessibility

The LAURA™ recruitment system fulfils critical accessibility requirements.

Information regarding accessibility

User interface components and interface content

The service is used over a browser-based user interface the components of which consist of text, images, input fields, menus, links, and buttons. We have aimed to be consistent in the naming, layout, and visuality of the components to make the user interface as noticeable, clear, unambiguous, understandable, and controllable as possible to the user. For each input field, a textual clarification is shown indicating what type of content the user is expected to enter in the field. Some fields also have specifying info texts.

Identifying errors

Obligatory fields in forms are marked with an asterisk. This is always shown as textual information to the user at the beginning of the form along with other possible limitations. In addition to obligatoriness, some fields (such as email address and phone number) utilise automated error checking. These checks are performed in connection with saving, and saving cannot be done if the input has errors or omissions. Each field with errors or omissions is highlighted and textual feedback is provided to make the fields that require correction as easy to notice as possible. For contextual and data security related reasons, the user is not shown ready-to-use, suggested corrections but the user retains the responsibility for the content of the corrections.

Checking data

The user has the responsibility for the selections made and the content entered in the form. The selections and the data can be checked before saving. The application submission process also includes a separate preview stage in the job applicant view. At this point it is possible to check the data entered in the form using a dedicated preview page. If required, you can return to editing the form from the preview page.

Status messages

Information regarding a successful or unsuccessful instance of saving is provided with a status message in the user interface. The status message content and presentation vary depending on the message’s nature (success, error, info, warning). Messages related to errors and warnings always inform the user about the cause for the error or warning, and, if required, instruct the user how to avoid the error or warning.

Page language

The service supports several different languages. The page language can be set at the application level by using the page’s lang attribute. Language selection can be presented as images in views where the user chooses the language for the page or input data, but it is always presented at least in text format.

Text alternatives

For images and icons that are relevant to using the service, there is always a text alternative for them that enables perceiving the image without seeing it. Text alternatives are not used for images that are visual and support use (such as icons and virtual photos shown inside action buttons) for which they are not necessary.

Tooltips and modals

The service also uses so-called tooltips that appear when the pointer is placed on an element and disappear when the pointer is moved off the element. Tooltips are designed to support using the service and to clarify and simplify views that would otherwise require a lot of instructions depending on the user. In addition, some service functions utilise modal windows that appear after the user activates this function. The modal window remains visible even after the pointer is moved outside it. You can close the window by clicking the close button.

Structure and order

To implement the service, general standards-compliant HTML elements have been used that enable application-level reading of the data, structure, and relations presented in the interface. The content is designed to be read traditionally from top to bottom. In connection with functions and contents, users are shown a header or text that describes the meaning of each function and content. For example, the job title is always formatted as a first-level header in recruitment advertisements.

Time-based media

The recruitment system’s user interface implementation does not employ time-based media such as videos and sounds. Time-based media, such as sounds, videos, and webinars, can be used as conceptual and support materials.

Animations and flashes

The user interface utilises moderate animations. The animations intend to help users detect events that take place in the service, such as successful saving. The animations do not use fast flashes.

Links

We use link texts to indicate the link’s target or meaning, primarily by means of the link text and at least by means of the link’s context. Links are formatted so that they stand out from regular text for improved noticeability.

Icons and shapes

The service’s user interface uses icons as a means of function visualisation. Icons aim to help users notice and locate the functions they need more easily. Interpreting and understanding an icon or visual form are not, however, requirements for using the service.

Images, background images, colours, and fonts

The visual look of the LAURA™ service is based on the brand look defined for the service. The sections visible to job applicants - such as published recruitment ads - are generally visualised with the employer’s brand look that includes colours, fonts, background image, logo, and the share image shown in connection with sharing over social media. If the sections visible to job applicants are not visualised with the employer’s brand look, it will comply with the standardised brand look of the LAURA™ service. The colour scheme and images take into account the required amount of contrast between content and background. The colours and images in the user interface are meant to support using the service, but they do not constitute a requirement for using the service.

Responsiveness and size adjustment

The job applicant’s view (open positions and submitting applications) is designed as responsive, that is, it adapts to the used end device. The employer’s view (recruitment system) is also designed as responsive and optimised for use on computers and tablets. The service can be used in a browser both vertically and horizontally. Text size can be adjusted by using the browser’s zoom function.

Views and navigation

The service consists of two main views: 1) employer’s view or the recruitment system, and 2) applicant’s view or job application service. The service’s pages and views follow the same standardised “container” structure, which means that the service’s functions are always structurally located in the same way. As they are used for different purposes, the employer and applicant views have different navigational structures. In both views, navigation is designed to be as consistent and clear as possible.

The service is browser-based, and its navigation is optimised for using a keyboard and mouse. It is possible to navigate solely by using the keyboard (using, for instance, the arrow keys, the spacebar, and the tab key) or by using tactile navigation on devices with touch screens. Fields use alignment - such as a blinking cursor in a text field - that depends on the used browser. Changes to alignment do not cause changes to context, such as producing new content on the page, but changes to multiple-choice types of settings may produce dynamic content on the page (for example, selecting a multiple-choice option of “Other, what?” can bring up a free-form input field).

The service allows using regular shortcut key combinations such as selecting text, copying, and pasting. The service does not use separate, customised shortcut keys.

The pages shown in the service are primarily the various stages of processes and functions of the service. In the employer’s view these include, for example, creating a recruitment ad, listing recruitment ads, and viewing received applications; in the applicant’s view these include browsing open positions and applying. The service also provides search functions. For instance, you can view received applications by using the application listing and search functions.

Scheduling

There are no time limits for using and reading the content. However, in publishing recruitment ads and submitting applications an employer-defined application period is applied and applicants cannot change this individually. For data security related reasons, the service monitors session length that can be adjusted differently for different views.

Content published by employers

By using the LAURA™ service, employers mainly publish recruitment advertisements and job application forms linked to these ads. Each employer is responsible for their own contents’ accessibility as required by the law. For example, it is possible to add an alternative description to an image embedded in a recruitment ad by using the advertisement editing tool.

Disproportionate burden

Non-textual content: In the service directed at the recruiter, product descriptions, news, and instructions are published that may include images, virtual photos, and screenshots. Some of these images and screenshots include text that has not been converted into textual format. We aim to describe the content of these images, however, in the sections of text for product descriptions, news, and instructions.

Section language: The service is primarily used in one language at a time. Users can set their preferred language in the user interface. In the employer’s view, applications are shown in the language in which they were saved to the service. Consequently, the employer’s user interface may be shown in a different language compared to the applications viewed in the interface. In these cases, the language is not specified in the page code per section, but the multilingual aspect is contextual. Similarly, multilingual email and advertisement templates do not specify the language in the page code per section, but the language versions are presented in the user interface through other means such as texts and icons.

Input functions: Input field functions are described by means of texts shown for the fields. Input field functions are not described in machine-readable format in the page code.

Feedback

Did you notice an accessibility issue in our recruitment system? Let us know and we will do our best to correct the issue. You can provide accessibility feedback by using the online form or by sending us email at support@laura.fi.

Supervisory authority

If you detect accessibility issues on the website, send feedback to us - the site administrator - first. It may take up to 14 days to reply. If you are not happy with the reply you received, or we fail to reply within two weeks, you can submit a notice to the Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland. The agency’s website provides details on how to submit a notice and how the issue will be handled.

Contact information for the supervisory authority

Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland

Accessibility monitoring unit

www.saavutettavuusvaatimukset.fi

saavutettavuus(at)avi.fi

Tel. centre +358 295 016 000