Unions gain access to thousands of Google workers after UK employment rights overhaul

Prospect to hold workplace sessions and recruit members under agreement with tech company

Trade unions are expected to make further inroads into big tech companies in the UK after new rights for unions to access workplaces came into force, with Google UK signing an agreement on Monday.

The Prospect union has reached an agreement with Google to begin organising among about 7,000 workers across its UK operations, including YouTube but excluding DeepMind.

Google DeepMind is expected to strike a separate agreement, with the Communication Workers Union seeking recognition there. The deal follows a similar agreement between Prospect and Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram and employs about 5,000 people in the UK.