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Accessibility Statement

We are committed to providing an accessible service and our website contains a number of features that can help you with any accessibility issues you may have. 

An accessibility audit retest for The Pensions Ombudsman Website was carried out by the Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC) technical team on 31 August 2021. 

The DAC team employ two differing testing processes. The first is a manual technical audit using automated tools and the second a dedicated team of user testers with differing disabilities test using a range of adaptive technologies. 

The Pensions Ombudsman Website was assessed against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 2.1.

Text size

You can alter the font size on the screen making the site easier to read. If you prefer the text to be a little bigger or smaller, you can increase the size of the text by clicking the corresponding option at the top of any page.

Alternatively you can increase the font size by holding down the “Ctrl” key on the bottom left hand row of the key board whilst using the scroll wheel on the mouse to increase (or decrease) the size of the text or press and hold the “Ctrl” key whilst pressing either “+” key to increase or “-” to decrease the size of text.

Screen colour contrast

At the top of every page, you will also find options for different colour/contrast schemes. You can select the most suitable one by clicking on the respective circles.

Coding standards

Our website has been developed to meet best practice coding standards and substantially conforms to guidelines laid down by World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) as well as Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1).

Adhering to these standards makes our site accessible to those browsers that also adhere to these standards, and makes our web pages more accessible to those using screen readers and similar devices.

Accessibility statement for The Pensions Ombudsman www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk

This accessibility statement applies to The Pensions Ombudsman website www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk.

This website is run by The Pensions Ombudsman. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. That means you should be able to: 

  • zoom in up to 200% without the text spilling off the screen 
  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • the visual presentation of text and images of text has the required contrast ratio
  • have the required contrast ratio on the visual presentation of text and images 
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard 
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
  • change non-text content into other forms people need, such as large print, braille, speech, symbols or simpler language, by providing text alternatives for any non-text content such as images
  • present content without loss of information or functionality, and without requiring scrolling in two dimensions for 
  • view content unrestricted to a single display orientation, such as portrait or landscape

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.

Accessibility of this website

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible. These are listed in the ‘Technical information about this website’s accessibility’ below. 

An accessibility audit retest for The Pensions Ombudsman Website was carried out by the Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC) technical team on 31 August 2021. 

The DAC team employ two differing testing processes. The first is a manual technical audit using automated tools and the second a dedicated team of user testers with differing disabilities test using a range of adaptive technologies. 

The Pensions Ombudsman Website was assessed against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 2.1.

The following areas of the website were tested:

1. Home: https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk

  • Including Search facility and customisation buttons 
  • Once the page is tested, click the ‘See if we can help’ button 
  • Click ‘Start now’ 
  • Select ‘An occupational or personal pension’ 
  • Select ‘Yes’ for all questions 

2. What we do: https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/what-we-do 

3. Case studies: https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/case-studies 

4. Can I complain?: https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/can-i-complain 

5. What’s involved?: https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/whats-involved 

6. Submit a complaint > What happens after a decision has been made: https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/submit-complaint 

  • Test the four drop-downs for ‘What are you complaining about’ 
  • Select ‘An occupational or private pension’ then click ‘Complete online form’ 
  • Click ‘Submit’ to check error handling 
  • Fill in with dummy data, select ‘No’ to all Yes/No questions, tick the tick box then click ‘Submit’ 

7. FAQ’s: https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/faqs including filters 

8. Previous decisions: https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/decisions 

  • Filter by ‘upheld’ 
  • Load more, then choose New airways pension scheme 
  • Download and check PDF 

9. News: https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/news 

  • Sort by A – Z 
  • Choose first article and read

10. Contact Us: https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/contact-us 

11. Jobs and volunteering: https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/jobs-and-volunteering 

12. Accessibility statement: https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/accessibility-statement 

13. Check Cymraeg content on home page: https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/cymraeg 

14. Check reCAPTCHA (Bottom right of the page)

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The Pensions Ombudsman 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 the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

The accessibility audit retest carried out by DAC identified the following inaccessible content. We continue to work through the issues raised and have recently published a new online application. A further retest will be carried out by May 2022.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

When using reflow options content loses structure and functionality which may cause difficulties for users who require varying magnification options. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.10 Reflow (Level AA). We will ensure that all content remains accessible for all users who are navigating the page using varying magnification methods.

Non-descriptive links have been used on some buttons which may cause difficulties to screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A). Some buttons have already been reviewed and the issue has been partially addressed. We will continue adding more description to the remaining links to inform users of the purpose of the links.

Some headings have not been marked up as headings and some are non-descriptive which may cause difficulties for screen reading users. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA). The issue has been partially addressed and some areas such as PDF and other documents text is now marked up as H3. We will ensure that remaining headings are marked up as such and descriptive to allow screen readers to easily identify the purpose of all headings.

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 if they’re not essential to providing our services. For example, we do not plan to fix previous Decisions uploaded before 23 September 2018.

We are going through a process of fixing documents published on or after 23 September, this work continues and will be complete by end of May 2022.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We will audit the site to cover accessibility issues following any major changes to the functionality of the site.

We will then audit the site once a year to cover accessibility issues.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, contact:

We’ll consider your request and get back to you as quickly as possible and always within 10 working days.

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:

We’ll consider your request and get back to you as quickly as possible and always within 10 working days.

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).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We use a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.

Our offices are not open to the public. For stakeholders and job candidates visiting our offices, we have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit, we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

Find out how to contact us.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was updated on 14 April 2022.

An accessibility audit retest for The Pensions Ombudsman Website was carried out by the Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC) technical team on 31 August 2021. 

Alongside a manual technical audit using automated tools, the website was tested by a dedicated team of user testers with differing disabilities test using a range of adaptive technologies

A further accessibility retest has been pushed back due to work being carried out on the new online form and will now be carried out by the Digital Accessibility Centre by the end of May 2022.