Google grants Prospect access to about 7,000 UK workers

By Grace Kim

About 7,000 Google UK workers, including YouTube staff but excluding Google DeepMind, can now be organised by Prospect after Google and Prospect signed a workplace-access agreement on Monday. The pact follows new union-access rights under the UK's Employment Rights Act. It gives Prospect a direct route into Google's workplaces.

What does the Google agreement cover?

The agreement lets Prospect begin organising among about 7,000 people across Google's UK operations. It includes YouTube. It excludes Google DeepMind, which is expected to reach a separate agreement. The Communication Workers Union is seeking recognition there.

Under the reported terms, unions may communicate with non-unionised workers, encourage them to join, and run sessions inside participating employers' workplaces across the UK. Prospect's sessions may take place at Google's flagship headquarters in King's Cross, London.

The arrangement follows a similar Prospect agreement with Meta. Meta owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. It employs about 5,000 people in the UK. Prospect represents more than 160,000 UK workers across several sectors.

Takeaway: Union organisers can now meet Google employees inside the workplace.

Why did Google sign?

Google said it signed to comply with the new UK workplace legislation. It also maintained that it already had good internal employee relations.

A spokesperson said:

“This step builds on our established work with internal employee representative groups, allowing us to fulfil these new requirements while preserving the respectful, direct dialogue our culture is built on.”

That explanation positions the pact alongside Google's existing employee-representation structures. Prospect treats the agreement as a signal that unions can negotiate with the largest global technology employers.

Prospect general secretary Mike Clancy said:

“Prospect has been organising tech workers for many years, and this access agreement is a powerful signal of intent that we can successfully negotiate agreements with even the biggest global tech companies.”

Clancy said tech workers deserve a stronger voice on pay, flexibility, AI deployment and workplace culture. He welcomed Google's agreement. He hoped it would encourage other technology companies to make a union relationship the new normal in the sector.

He also said workers would gain a stronger voice as more Google and Meta employees joined unions. Looking to Prospect's record of delivering wins for members, he said he expected to see what the union could achieve together.

Takeaway: Google frames the deal as compliance, while Prospect sees a route to bargaining.

What changes under the new law?

The Employment Rights Act gives unions the right to enter workplaces to meet workers. They may also communicate with workers electronically. From January, employers must inform workers of their right to join a union.

The rights came into force before the Google agreement. They are expected to help unions make further inroads into large UK technology companies.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said last week that he expected a wave of union recognition deals in the private sector over the next year. He described the access rules as transformative.

Before the new rights, unions seeking recognition sometimes had to organise from outside the workplace, as happened in the GMB's thwarted effort at an Amazon warehouse near Coventry two years ago.

Takeaway: Unions now have a statutory route into workplaces, alongside electronic communication.

What should practitioners watch?

For employment lawyers and union advisers, the change is immediate: organising can move from external contact to sessions inside the employer's site. Employers must accommodate access now, then notify workers of union membership rights from January. The reported Google terms describe access and communication; they do not state a recognition result or bargaining settlement.

Takeaway: Advisers should plan for on-site access now and a separate January notice duty.