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.

The agreements will allow unions to communicate with non-unionised workers and encourage them to join.

The union, which represents more than 160,000 UK workers across several sectors, will now be able to run sessions inside Google’s workplaces, including the flagship headquarters in King’s Cross, London.

Prospect’s general secretary, Mike Clancy, said: “Prospect has been…