EY India Office Lacked Labour Permit, Reveals Probe After Pune CA's Death

India's Labour Ministry, which is probing the death of accountant Anna Sebastian Perayil, revealed that the Ernst & Young (EY) India office in Pune had been operating without a State permit. The 27-year-old employee died in July 2024 due to cardiac arrest triggered by 'work stress', her mother Anita Augustine alleged in a recent email to chairperson Rajiv Memani. On September 24, the investigators stated that they found a shocking lapse since 2007 in the Pune office's permit to regulate working hours, according to news agency Reuters.

Labour Ministry Finds Lapse In Company's Permit

Anita Augustine's email to Memani was widely shared on social media, catching the attention of some political figures. On September 19, Union Minister of State for Labour, Shobha Karandlaje, said in a post on X that the Centre had taken up a complaint and begun investigations in Perayil's death. 

Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Anna Sebastian Perayil. A thorough investigation into the allegations of an unsafe and exploitative work environment is underway. We are committed to ensuring justice & @LabourMinistry has officially taken up the complaint.@mansukhmandviya https://t.co/1apsOm594d

— Shobha Karandlaje (@ShobhaBJP) September 19, 2024

Meanwhile, Maharashtra's labour ministry found that EY's Pune office had been operating without a mandatory permit under the state's ‘Shops and Establishments Act’, according to Reuters. The Act asserts that the maximum working hours for adults are nine hours each day and 48 hours each week.

Additional labour commissioner Shailendra Pol told the news agency, "The company applied for a registration with the labour department only in February 2024 and we rejected it because it had not applied since 2007 when it started this office." EY India has been given seven days to respond.

If an employee dies or is harmed by the alleged non-compliance with the Act, the company could be fined up to ₹5 lakh and the head could get up to six months jail time. The Ministry is probing EY India's log book for employee hours and welfare policies to probe if Perayil was excessively overworked. 

Anna Perayil's Death

Anita Augustine sent an email to Rajiv Memani, pointing out the gap between the company’s stated human rights values and her daughter's experience. She said that her daughter worked tirelessly to meet her employers' expectations but the pressure took a toll on her health.

Augustine said that Perayil experienced anxiety, sleeplessness, and stress soon after starting work but kept pushing herself. She claimed that many employees resigned because of the workload, while Perayil's boss encouraged her to "stay and change everyone's opinion about the team."

Augustine wrote, "Her manager would often reschedule meetings during cricket matches and assign her work at the end of the day, adding to her stress. At an office party, a senior leader even joked that she would have a tough time working under her manager, which became a reality she could not escape."

She also shared that Perayil would often work "late into the night and even on weekends." Augustine wrote, "Anna told us about the overwhelming workload, especially the extra tasks given verbally, beyond her official duties. I advised her not to take on so much, but the managers kept pushing."

“Her assistant manager once called her at night with a task that needed to be completed by the next morning, leaving her with barely any time to rest or recover. When she voiced her concerns, she was met with the dismissive response: ‘You can work at night; that’s what we all do’," she wrote.

Augustine described that her daughter's health started to deteriorate due to the excessive work. "Anna would come back to her room completely exhausted, sometimes collapsing on the bed without even changing, only to receive more messages asking for reports. She was giving her best, working hard to meet deadlines."

Augustine continued, "She was a fighter and never gave up easily. We advised her to quit, but she wanted to learn and gain experience. Unfortunately, the pressure became too much for her.” Perayil's mother criticised her employers for "glorifying overwork" and leaving her overwhelmed in a new city. 

“Like many in her position, Anna did not have the experience or the agency to draw boundaries or push back against unreasonable demands. She was trying to prove herself in a new environment, and in doing so, she pushed herself beyond limits. And now, she is no longer with us,” Augustine expressed.

"How can EY truly live by the values it claims to uphold?" Augustine wrote. She added that her daughter's death should be a "wake-up call" for the company. "It's time to rethink your work culture and take real steps to prioritize the health and well-being of your employees," she asserted. 

Heartbreaking news from EY Pune - a young CA succumbed to the work pressure and nobody from EY even attended her funeral - this is so appalling and nasty!!! pic.twitter.com/pt8ThUKiNR

— Malavika Rao (@kaay_rao) September 17, 2024

EY Chairperson Responds To Death Of Employee

Amid growing Rajiv Memani responded in a LinkedIn post, "It has always been very important to us to create a healthy workplace and we attach the highest importance to the well-being of our people."

Responding to Augustine's letter, he added, "I would like to affirm that the well-being of our people is my top-most priority and I will personally champion this objective. I am absolutely committed to nurturing a harmonious workplace, and I will not rest until that objective is accomplished."

Memani also expressed 'regret' over not attending the young employee's funeral. "I truly regret the fact that we missed being present at Anna’s funeral. This is completely alien to our culture. It has never happened before; it will never happen again," he wrote on behalf of the company.

Earlier, a spokesperson for EY issued a statement as the outrage over Perayil's death grew on social media. According to Business Today, the company said, “We are deeply saddened by Anna Sebastian's tragic and untimely passing in July 2024, and our deepest condolences go to the bereaved family."

The statement further read, "Anna was a part of the Audit team at S R Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global, in Pune for a brief period of four months, joining the firm on 18 March 2024. That her promising career was cut short in this tragic manner is an irreparable loss for all of us." 

"While no measure can compensate for the loss experienced by the family, we have provided all the assistance as we always do in such times of distress." EY added that they place the "highest importance" on their employees' wellbeing and will produce ways to ensure a healthy workplace.