Chairperson Rajiv Memani On Why EY Missed Anna Sebastian Perayil’s Funeral
Following the untimely death of former Ernst and Young (EY) India employee Anna Sebastian Perayil due to alleged work pressure, Chairman Rajiv Memani expressed his regret at no one from the company attending the funeral of its employee.
In her now viral open letter to the EY India chairperson, Anna’s mother, Anita Augustine, had asked, “How can a company that speaks of values and human rights fail to show up for one of its own in their final moments?”
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Responding to the same question through a post on LinkedIn, Memani called it “alien to our [EY] culture” and claimed that it had “never happened before; it will never happen again.”
The news of the 26-year-old Chartered Accountant’s death unleashed intense backlash against EY and other corporate firms, especially the ‘Big 4’, for promoting and normalising a toxic work culture and disregarding the health and wellbeing of its employees.
Addressing the same, Memani stated, “Over the past few days, I am aware that people have in their social media posts commented on some of our work practices. 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.”
Watch | Video: Chartered Accountant’s Death Raises Concern Over Work Culture
He further added that the wellbeing of its employees is his “top-most priority” and pledged to “personally champion this objective.” “I am absolutely committed to nurturing a harmonious workplace, and I will not rest until that objective is accomplished,” the EY India chairperson wrote.
In a previous statement, Memani had dismissed claims of work pressure being the cause of the death of Anna, who passed away on July 20 after working for four months in EY Pune. Memani stated that she had been assigned work similar to other employees.
“We have around one lakh employees. There is no doubt each one has to work hard. Anna worked with us only for four months. She was allotted work like any other employee. We don’t believe that work pressure could have claimed her life,” he said.
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The company, in its first statement issued after the letter went viral, stated, “We have provided all the assistance as we always do in such times of distress and will continue to do so.”
Meanwhile, Union Labour Minister Shobha Karandlaje said that the government has launched a probe on Anna’s death and the allegations raised by her parents against the company.
Read Also | “Work Allotted (To Anna Sebastian) Like Other Employees”: EY Chairman Dismisses Work Pressure Claim
Anna had passed her CA exams in November last year and had joined EY Pune for her first job. In the viral letter, Augustine stated that her daughter was often assigned additional tasks verbally, sometimes at night with the deadline for the following morning. Since then, Anna’s alleged colleague stated that both Anna’s manager and assistant manager were known to be brutal with the work. In a Reddit comment, the alleged colleague further elaborated on the toxic work culture prevalent in EY India, with employees often working 16 hours a day with no day offs on weekends or public holidays.
Since the untimely demise of Anna, several people have come forward with their past and current experiences at working at EY, Deloitte, and other major firms, corroborating Augustine’s claims of employees being pushed to the brink of exhaustion.
