EY employee death: TMC MP to raise ‘toxic work culture’ issue in Parliament | News

Anna Sebastian Perayil, a chartered accountant who worked with SR Batliboi, an EY Global member firm in Yerawada, Pune, passed away on July 20. | Photo: Bloomberg

3 minutes reading time Last update: September 19, 2024 | 1:28 PM IS

Two days after the death of an Ernst and Young (EY) employee came to light, Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale on Thursday (September 19) announced that the matter would be raised in Parliament. He also mentioned that a letter had been sent to the labour secretary of Maharashtra.

The TMC MP has highlighted the plight of employees in private companies across India and called for an urgent inquiry into the working conditions at EY, which allegedly contributed to the death of Anna Sebastian Perayil on July 20. The incident only gained further prominence following a letter written by her mother, Anita Augustine, to the head of EY in India, which went viral on Tuesday, September 17.

“It is extremely disturbing and worrying to read Anita Augustine’s letter describing how her daughter, Anna Sebastian Perayil, died due to overwork in a toxic work environment at her company,” Saket Gokhale said in an official statement.

“There have been numerous testimonies from employees stating that these conditions are common in many consultancies and other private companies. This is UNACCEPTABLE! We have enough laws in place to protect employees from unfair practices, insufficient pay and excessive working hours. The problem is that the government, which is tasked with enforcing these laws, often turns a blind eye when wealthy corporations and multinationals are implicated,” he said.


Anna’s death puts EY under scrutiny

Anna Sebastian Perayil, a chartered accountant working at SR Batliboi, an EY Global member firm in Yerawada, Pune, passed away on July 20 while undergoing treatment at a city hospital. She had been admitted after feeling unwell and complaining of exhaustion. Her colleagues were initially informed that she had suffered a heart attack.

However, in her letter, Anna’s mother Anita Augustine claimed that her daughter had been under extreme work pressure, which deteriorated her health and ultimately led to her death. She also expressed concern over the company’s “new environment”, which she feared could harm other employees in the future. The letter, addressed to EY India chairman Rajiv Memani, denounced the culture of glorifying overwork at the multinational consultancy firm.


EY’s response to the death of an employee

EY has issued a statement saying: “Anna was part of the audit team at SR Batliboi, an EY Global member firm in Pune, for a brief period of four months, having joined the firm on 18 March 2024. We all feel the tragic loss of her promising career.”

The firm said that while nothing could compensate for the family’s loss, it had provided support and would continue to do so. “We are treating the family’s correspondence with utmost seriousness and humility. The well-being of all our employees is of utmost importance and we will continue to find ways to improve and provide a healthy workplace for our 100,000 employees across EY member firms in India,” the statement said.

First published: September 19, 2024 | 12:41 pm IS



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