Fetch is committed to making our platform usable by the widest possible audience, regardless of ability or technology. This statement applies to the Fetch website at fetchvet.co, our practice web portal, and our iOS and Android mobile applications.
1. The Standard We Aim For
We are working towards meeting the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at the AA conformance level, which is the UK Government's recommended standard for public-facing digital services. Our obligations arise from:
- The Equality Act 2010, which requires us to make reasonable adjustments for disabled users.
- Best-practice guidance from the Government Digital Service (GDS) and the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).
2. What We Are Doing
We incorporate accessibility into our design and development process. In particular:
- Colour contrast on the marketing site, authentication, and main dashboard surfaces is reviewed against WCAG AA contrast ratios. Most recently reviewed: 18 May 2026.
- Interactive elements (buttons, links, form controls) are reachable by keyboard and expose accessible names. Icon-only buttons carry an
aria-labelon the web or anaccessibilityLabelon mobile. - We test the primary flows (sign-up, shift posting, applying for a shift, messaging, check-in) with VoiceOver on iOS and TalkBack on Android. Other less-trafficked flows have not been systematically tested with assistive technology; we welcome reports of barriers.
- Form fields have visible labels, programmatically-associated error messaging (
aria-describedby+aria-invalid), and do not use placeholder text as the only label. - Time-sensitive actions (for example, shift check-in) have no arbitrary countdowns that would disadvantage slower users. Server-side session tokens refresh in the background without user action.
3. Known Issues
We are transparent about areas of the platform that may not yet meet WCAG 2.1 AA. The list below reflects the most recent self-assessment (May 2026), which combined an internal static code review with an automated audit using axe-core 4.10 against the public marketing site, the authentication pages (sign-in, register, forgot password), and the legal pages.
The May 2026 axe-core run reported zero outstanding violations on the public surfaces listed above. Items below are known limitations that the automated audit does not exercise:
- Some older authenticated-dashboard design elements use colour alone to convey state — we are migrating these to include icons or text as well (SC 1.4.1).
- The urgent-shift map view relies on visual cues (markers with timers); we provide a list-based alternative on the same screen (SC 1.3.3).
- Uploaded PDFs (such as your own professional documents) are not re-processed for accessibility by us — their accessibility depends on the source file (SC 1.1.1).
- External avatar service (pravatar.cc) is used for sample testimonial photos on the marketing site. These are marked as decorative (
alt="") with the author name supplied in adjacent text. - The authenticated dashboard (post-login pages, practice tooling, mobile app screens) has not yet been swept end-to-end with axe-core in a real authenticated session. This is scheduled before our public launch; this statement will be updated with the findings.
If you encounter a barrier not listed above, please tell us — see Section 5.
4. Compatibility
Our platform is designed to be compatible with recent versions of the major browsers (Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox) and with the accessibility features built into iOS 16 and later and Android 12 and later. We test with VoiceOver and TalkBack on the mobile app and with keyboard-only navigation on the web.
5. Feedback and Contact
If you experience any accessibility barriers on the Fetch platform, or if you need information on this site in an alternative format, please contact us:
- Email: [email protected]
We aim to respond to accessibility feedback within 5 business days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS), an organisation that supports complaints under the Equality Act 2010:
- Website: equalityadvisoryservice.com
6. Enforcement
If you believe we are not meeting our accessibility obligations, you may bring a claim under the Equality Act 2010. Please raise your concerns with us first so we have an opportunity to address them.
7. Preparation of This Statement
This statement was last reviewed on 18 May 2026, based on a self-assessment carried out by the Fetch team against WCAG 2.1 AA. A full automated audit using axe DevTools and Lighthouse is planned before our public launch. We intend to review and update this statement at least annually, and whenever there is a substantial change to the platform.
