Ernst & Young (EY), one of the Big Four accounting firms, has gone on to release an official statement. After the tragic death of its 26-year-old Pune employee. Anna Sebastian Perayil was a Chartered Accountant (CA) from Kerala. Who reportedly died due to work-related stress, claims her mother in an email sent to EY India boss Rajiv Memani. It said Anna Sebastian Perayil was a member of the Audit team at S R Batliboi. The firm expressed “sincere and abiding sorrow” over the “irreparable loss” of the young employee and emphasized it “assisted the family during this tragic time”.
While no compensation can bring back the loss for the family. We have offered all support as we always do at times like this and continue to do so. The company said in a statement that it was extremely saddened to hear of the tragic and untimely death of Anna Sebastian in July 2024. And “our hearts go out to the grieving family”.
The company says the death of their young employee is an “irreparable loss for all”. “Anna was part of the Audit team at S R Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global. In Pune for a short period of four months, joining the firm on March 18 2024. That her promising career was cut short in this tragic manner is an irreparable loss for all of us.”
The company, based in London, UK, hinted at further changes “to improve and provide a healthy workplace” for its staff. “We take the family’s correspondence with utmost seriousness and humility. We place the highest importance on the well-being of all employees. And we continue to find ways to improve and provide a healthy workplace for our 100,000 people across EY member firms in India.”
But nothing done after that, writes Anita Augustine whose daughter succumbed to the very same pressure. In an email to Rajiv Memani, head of EY India, Anita wrote: “You glorify overwork in your human rights values where you proclaim that yours is a firm that respects the dignity of people and upholds respect for the rights of all individuals. I wants to tell this tragedy so that it cannot be consign to oblivion.”.
According to her mother, since many “employees resigned due to the excessive workload,” her daughter’s boss tell her to “stick around and change everyone’s opinion about the team”. She also said she “worked late into the night and even on weekends”.
“Her assistant manager once called her at night with a task. That had to be done the following morning, barely leaving her time to rest or recover. When she complained, she was “dismissed with the tone. “You can work at night; that is what we all do, Augustine recalled in the email.
The bereaved mother stated that her daughter’s death should serve as a wake-up call for the company. “It is time to reflect on the work culture in your organization. And meaningful steps to take into priority the health and wellness of your employees.”.
While it is not clear what killed her, Perayil had been complaining of “chest constriction” weeks before her death. “We took her to the hospital in Pune. Her ECG was normal, and the cardiologist came to allay our fears, telling us she wasn’t getting enough sleep and was eating very late. He prescribed antacids, which reassured us that it wasn’t anything serious,” Augustine added. The woman died on July 20.
Anna Sebastian Perayil’s account on LinkedIn has been memorialize in memory of her professional legacy. Even before joining EY as an executive, Anna Sebastian Perayil worked at G Joseph & Associates between January 2020 and December 2022 for two years. She was employ at G Joseph & Associates as an audit assistant. As a graduate of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). Perayil has over three years of work experience in taxation, statutory audits, and internal audits. Besides that, she was a national-level debater. Here’s her last LinkedIn post, which is also a representation of her job update at EY. “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as an Audit and Assurance Executive at EY!”
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