Equality law - Designers and manufacturers of goods

If your business is as a designer or manufacturer of goods then equality law does not cover your business operations as they relate to designing or making goods.

You do not have to make changes to your physical products, packaging or instructions.

You can also target the advertising or marketing of your products at a group with particular protected characteristics. You can read more about advertising and marketing.

Even though you do not have to, it can be good business sense to make goods, packaging and instructions more accessible to all potential and existing customers.

There are two ways you might be covered as a service provider:

• If you provide information which is more than just an advertisement, you may need to supply this in alternative formats, if doing this would be a reasonable adjustment, which it is may be, depending on the circumstances. 
• If you sell or give the goods you make directly to the public, then you will be covered by equality law as if you are a shop.

So, for example, if a company sells its products by mail order, over the internet or through a factory shop, then it will have duties under equality law as a service provider.