If you’re bringing in support to help with your digital products, whether it’s a VA, marketing assistant, or copywriter, you’re probably focused on delegating tasks and freeing up your time.
But there’s one area that often gets overlooked in onboarding: compliance.
With the EU’s new General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) coming into effect, making sure your team understands the basics is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a necessity.
In this post, we’ll walk through how internal compliance risks can arise without you realising, what your team actually needs to know about GPSR, and how to build it into your onboarding process.
What is GPSR and Why Does It Affect Your Team?
The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) sets new safety and compliance standards for all products sold to consumers in the EU, and yes, this now includes digital products like templates, courses, and downloads.
If you’re based outside the EU but have EU, Northern Ireland or EEA customers, you’re required to appoint an EU representative. But compliance doesn’t stop there.
The way your digital product is set up, delivered, supported, and even refunded, all of it falls under the scope of GPSR.
Which means anyone on your team who’s involved in that process needs to be aligned.
Where Internal Compliance Gaps Usually Happen
Here are a few real-life ways we’ve seen compliance issues crop up unintentionally:
- A VA edits a checkout page but forgets to include terms and conditions
- Marketing Support updates automations but skips the email that contains key delivery info
- A project manager changes the contents of a digital product but does not update the risk assessment
Individually, they seem small. But under GPSR, any missed step that impacts product access, safety, or communication can become a compliance issue.
What Your Contractors Need to Know About GPSR
You don’t need to give your team a legal handbook, but they do need to understand the basics.
Here’s what to include in your team onboarding or SOPs:
- What GPSR Is and Why It Applies
A short explanation that your business serves EU customers and must comply with safety and transparency regulations, including digital delivery and customer care. - Where to Find Key Compliance Info
This might include:
- Your terms and conditions
- Delivery timelines
- Refund and cancellation policies
- Any disclaimers or product-specific notes
These should be clearly documented and available to your team.
- Their Role in the Compliance Chain
Be clear about how their specific tasks fit into the wider compliance picture. For example:
- A VA needs to check that confirmation emails go out correctly
- A business manager needs to assess the safety risk of a new product
- Anyone responding to customers should know what they can and can’t promise
- What to Do If Something Goes Wrong
Include a simple escalation process:
- Who to tell
- What to flag
- How to log issues if delivery or access breaks down
Why This Matters
Compliance isn’t just about regulations, it’s about protecting your business and building trust with your customers.
You can have the most solid external policies in place, but if your team doesn’t know how to uphold them internally, you’re still exposed to risk.
Want Support With GPSR Compliance?
If you’re selling digital products to EU, Northern Ireland or EEA customers, appointing an EU-based representative is now a legal requirement under the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR).
Through our EU Appointed Person Service, we provide:
- Official EU representation for your business
- Support with safety documentation (so you know what to prepare and where it’s stored)
- Liaison with regulatory authorities, should any issues arise
- Updates on key legal changes that affect your responsibilities
This service doesn’t include broader operational consultancy, but it will give you peace of mind that the legal boxes are ticked, and that someone is holding the compliance end of things for you.
Final thoughts
Bringing on a team should make your life easier, not riskier.
By giving your contractors a simple, clear understanding of GPSR and their role in upholding it, you’re not just covering your legal bases, you’re building a stronger, safer business.
If you’re not sure where to start or want expert eyes on your setup, you can learn more about our compliance support here.
