Deloitte UK says it may move work out of Britain if PM limits immigration 

Deloitte’s warning comes after Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to crack down on levels of immigration following the vote to leave the EU.

Deloitte UK chief executive David Sproul cautioned the ability to bring in talent from inside and outside of the EU was crucial to the company’s success.

He said: “We have more than 100 nationalities working for us in the UK. Having a diverse workforce is vital in terms of allowing us to grow and innovate.”

If the company was no longer allowed to “bring people in” it could adapt training for British people and “some of that would definitely be possible”, Mr Sproul said.

However, while the firm has no current plans to relocate, he said it was “more likely” that some of the work currently carried out here would have to “reluctantly” be moved.

Sky News submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Home Office to ask how many foreign workers are employed in the UK.

The results show that between April 2012 and March 2015, more than 88,000 non-EU citizens were sponsored on a working visa.

The top sectors were healthcare and education, which each employ around 12,000 non-EU workers, and then financial services with 7,000.

The University of Oxford employed the most foreign workers, followed by the University of Cambridge. Financial services companies made up the rest of the top five.

London is a city celebrated for attracting the world’s best talent and offering opportunity.

It is why Ritu Soni, a single parent to two girls, made the move from India to the UK five years ago.

She is sponsored to work by mobile telecoms company Lebara, and says she has noticed a change in attitude towards her family since the vote to leave the EU which has made her feel unwelcome.

“Suddenly there was Brexit and bam!” she said. “The next morning the girls woke up and they’re brown. It really gutted me to notice that.

“It took me a long time to get them to understand that even in the modern, developed world there are people who now have a licence to be xenophobic or carry out racist attacks.

“The next two years will really help us decide whether we want to stay here and work here. I am really hoping we are made to feel more welcome because we are contributing and working.

“This is our home now.”

The Government has said it wants to reduce levels of net migration whilst continuing to attract the “brightest and the best”.

Universities say this is essential and that they need a visa system that allows them to attract the most talented scientists, researchers and innovators to work in the UK.

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, vice chancellor of Manchester University, said the number of non-UK nationals it employs is a measure of its success.

“It’s the way we are judged in international league tables,” she said. “The more international we are, the better we are deemed to be.

“That’s one of the reasons UK universities do so well in global ranking tables.”

Source: Sky News