Accessibility Statement for IRIS Cascade and MyCascade

This accessibility statement applies to the IRIS Cascade HR web app and the associated MyCascade web app. It does not apply to the legacy Cascade mobile iPhone or web app, the IRIS Cascade website, or any other IRIS product or website.

For information about supported web browsers and screen readers, visit our System requirements page.

IRIS Cascade main accessibility characteristics

  • Browser zoom and text resizing with browser settings are well supported.

  • The application has excellent colour contrasts.

  • Dark mode is supported and is automatically applied based on your own system settings.

  • Animations will be reduced if your system is set to reduce motion.

  • There are no images of text.

  • All content and instructions are in plain text (although some instructions and messages could be difficult to understand for some users).

  • The application is intended to be used with a desktop browser, although the visual layout is partially responsive and will adapt well to most window sizes. It is not intended to be used on mobile.

  • Screen reader (and similar assistive technology) users may find it difficult to use the application, because page regions, headings, and form controls are often not identified well enough.

Using a keyboard

  • A 'skip to main content' link is the first focusable element on every page.

  • You can navigate to most parts of the application using only a keyboard, although some sidebar menu items and features of some pages may not yet be reachable.

  • Tab order is often different to the visible order of focusable elements; some elements can't be keyboard focused.

Page regions, headings and element types

  • Pages have level 1 headings.

  • Sub-headings (level 2 and below) are not always identified appropriately.

  • Most pages and sidebar menus use tables for layouts.

  • Most pages use iFrames to combine content, which may be inaccessible by some assistive technologies.

  • The main page landmark and sidebar are not properly identified for screen reader users.

  • Some buttons are not properly identified as buttons, or have incomplete or missing accessible labels.

  • Some content, including some modals open in new popup windows; you may need to allow popups for Cascade in your browser permissions.

Images and charts

  • Some buttons or links use only an image or icon without alternative text. Often these links have adjacent links with text labels that perform the same action. This is especially true with the page action buttons at the bottom the main content area on many pages.

  • Charts are mostly limited to dashboards, but are not considered accessible; they represent data that is contained in your HR record (or other people's HR records, if you have permission to see the information), and system reports.

Colours

  • Colours for text and backgrounds have high contrast (WCAG 2.1 1.4.6 Contrast (Enhanced) – Level AAA).

  • Dark mode is supported and is automatically applied based on you system setting.

  • There are no in-application settings to change the colour theme (dark theme, high contrast etc).

Text styling

  • Use your browser's accessibility settings to increase or decrease the font size.

  • User agent stylesheets can be used to change character spacing or line spacing (text should reflow; success depends on how you have things set up).

Language and messages

  • The application uses British English (en-gb). Content added by users in languages other than English may not be always be correctly pronounced by your assistive technology.

  • Some system-generated instructions, error messages or labels are not written in plain English.

  • Error messages are not always clearly associated with form controls.

Animations and timing

  • There is a small amount of animation when hovering or focusing on buttons or links.

  • Animations will be reduced if your system settings are set to prefer reduced motion (in Windows 11, search for 'Animation Effects' settings; in MacOS 'Reduce motion').

  • Your login session expires and you are logged out after a period of inactivity; there is no warning.

Audio, video and external documents

  • There is no video or audio within the application.

  • Downloadable PDFs, created by the system, are not accessible.

Browser zoom and responsiveness

  • Zoom up to 200% using your browser's zoom functions (WCAG 1.4.4 Resize text – Level AA).

  • Cascade is optimised for use on a desktop computer; it is not recommended to use on a mobile device.

MyCascade main accessibility characteristics

  • The application has excellent colour contrasts.

  • Interactive elements have good-sized target areas.

  • Browser zoom and text resizing with browser settings are well supported.

  • There are no images of text.

  • All content and instructions are in plain text.

  • The visual layout is responsive and the application is usable on both mobile and desktop devices.

  • Page regions and key elements are properly identified to assistive technology users.

  • Keyboard users may occasionally find focus is not always moved to modals after opening.

  • Downloadable pdfs aren't accessible for some users. For payslips, accessible on-screen alternatives are available by using the open buttons on the payslips table.

Using a keyboard

  • A 'skip to main content' link is the first focusable element on every page.

  • Supports tab navigation in most areas.

  • On some pop-out menus, focus is not always moved to the menu.

  • When opening the absence booking form, focus is not automatically moved to the form.

  • When viewing a payslip on the pay screen, the order of sections displayed does not match the focus order.

Page regions, headings and element types

  • Appropriate heading levels are used throughout.

  • The main and header page regions are identified.

Images and charts

Text alternatives are provided where appropriate.

Colours

  • Colours for text and backgrounds have high contrast (WCAG 2.1 1.4.6 Contrast (Enhanced) – Level AAA).

  • There are no application settings to change the colour theme (dark theme, high contrast etc).

  • Device dark mode is not supported.

Text styling

  • Use your browser's accessibility settings to increase or decrease the font size.

  • User agent stylesheets can be used to change character spacing or line spacing (text should reflow; success depends on how you have things set up).

Language

The application uses British English only.

Animations and timing

  • There is a small amount of animation when hovering or focussing on buttons or links.

  • Animations cannot be disabled.

  • Your login session expires and you are logged out after a period of inactivity; there is no warning.

Audio, video and external documents

  • There is no video or audio within the application.

  • Downloadable PDFs, such as payslips, are not accessible.

Browser zoom and responsiveness

  • Zoom up to 200% using your browser's zoom functions (WCAG 1.4.4 Resize text – Level AA).

  • MyCascade is optimised for both desktop and mobile use.

Prioritising features for employees

Some pages and features are used by our biggest user group, Employees. We think it's right to focus our efforts on making the most important of those features as accessible as they can be. These include requesting absences, checking payslips and reviewing personal information. This work is in progress.

We'll still make improvements to accessibility in many other parts of the system. However, some pages and features are used only occasionally by system administrators and we may decide that we will not develop some of those features if it means we can focus our efforts on improving more heavily-used areas.

Standards and regulations

We use Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 (opens in new window) AA standard as a reference as we aim for minimum technical levels of accessibility. We know we have more work to do to meet this standard and are making progress.

We have used the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) (opens in new window) to evaluate sample pages.

We are also working towards the principles of ISO/IEC 30071-1 (opens in new window) to help us improve and maintain accessibility.

Customisation of content by your organisation

IRIS Cascade HR and MyCascade can be customised by your organisation. The content of some pages, forms, instructions, emails and other messages may have been added or edited by your organisation. We don't expect you to know who wrote what, so if you find an accessibility issue, let us know and we'll identify who's best to look into it.

Contact us with feedback or to report an accessibility problem

To help us send feedback to the right people, we have a customer support Service Desk department.

As an end-user, you can't normally contact the department directly. Instead, ask your manager or HR representative to find out who has responsibility for contacting us on your behalf.

Give them the following information to pass to us:

  • The type of device you were using (for example: iPhone 13, or Windows 10 desktop computer).

  • The web browser and any assistive technology or applications you were using.

  • The page, or pages where you found the problem.

  • A description of the problem.

  • Your contact details and the most accessible way to reach you, if you're happy for us to get in touch.

Updates to this accessibility statement

This statement was last updated on 07 November 2024.

For information about the latest improvements to IRIS Cascade HR and MyCascade, visit our What's new page.