Ernst and Young (EY) has come under scrutiny following the tragic death of 26-year-old audit executive Anna Sebastian Perayil. As per a senior government official, during an investigation it was revealed that the Pune office has been operating without the state permit since 2007.
This state registration is mandatorily required under Maharashtra’s Shops and Establishments Act, as it regulates working hours to nine hours per day and 48 hours per week and protects employees’ rights.
A probe in the issue by Maharashtra Labour Department was initiated. Beyond State level, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took suo motu cognizance of the case.
EY has stated that SRBC & Co. LLP was “providing its full cooperation to the Ministry of Labour in its investigation.” EY has previously said that it placed “the highest importance on the well-being of all employees” and was “taking the family’s correspondence with the utmost seriousness and humility”.
Maharashtra’s additional labour commissioner, Shailendra Pol, has informed that EY applied for registration with the labor department in February 2024, 17 years after the office began operations. However, it was rejected due to delay in filing.
EY could face fines of up to ₹5 lakh ($5,979) and imprisonment of up to six months, if the investigation finds out that firm’s non-compliance with the law have contributed to Anna’s death. 7 days have been provided to EY to provide details regarding its employee hours, welfare policies, etc.
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Death of Anna Sebastian
The death of Anna Sebastian Perayil, reportedly by a cardiac arrest, due to immense stress, has raised serious concerns, particularly on social media, about the company’s working conditions and its compliance with labour laws.
In a letter to EY India’s Chairman Rajiv Memani, Perayil’s mother, Anita Augustine, has blamed the firm for the death of her daughter. Allegedly, Anna, who joined the EY Pune just 5 months ago, was facing excessive workloads, which her family attributed as “backbreaking”, as she was frequently working late into the night and even on weekends, she was assigned working leaving no time for rest.
Overall, Anna’s tragic death has brought attention to the mental health issue and workloads on employees in the corporate world. In a similar incident, an employee in Wells Fargo, Denise Prudhomme, 60, died at her desk and her body went unnoticed for days. Discussion for betterment of employees mental health have started with companies like JP Morgan taking initiatives.
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