EY faces scrutiny as Labour Office probes the death of its CA

Officials from the Indian Labour Commissioner's office had recently inspected the big four accounting firm, Ernst & Young (EY) office at Pune regarding the death of Anna Sebastian Perayil, a 26-year-old chartered accountant. Her mother alleged that overworking at the firm contributed to the death of her daughter. 

The officials also interviewed executives in the western city on Monday while investigating the death of the young CA. 

All eyes on EY firm

Presently, the globally renowned accounting firm faces scrutiny in India over the recent death of the young CA under extreme workload which has ignited an uproar in the nation and pushed the central government to order a probe into the matter.

Pune Additional Labour Commissioner, Shailendra Pol has disclosed reviewing various documents related to the victim at the office. EY has been granted seven days to submit the same documents to the department. [Source: ET]

"We have checked the working conditions and current situations at the office. We sought information about the working rules, welfare policy of the company, and policies for extra working hours," Pol remarked.

This investigation was followed after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took suo motu cognizance of the incident and issued a notice to the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment to submit a detailed report on the matter within four weeks.

The Commission has also asked other companies to review their work culture, employment policies and regulations to verify if it is aligned with global human rights standards.

"The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India, has taken suo motu cognizance of media reports that a 26-year-old chartered accountant girl from Kerala died in Pune, Maharashtra, on July 20, 2024, allegedly, due to excessive workload in the Ernst & Young that she joined four months back," an NHRC release stated.

On Monday, Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told reporters that the state authorities in Maharashtra are preparing a report on the incident, and are expected to submit the same to the Centre in seven to ten days. “We will have to study the report…We’ll be able to tell more about it when the report comes,” 

“The post-mortem report will come, the police will give a report. We’ll speak with the company also, and take any action based on the reports findings,” he added.

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EY denies any connection to the death of the CA.

However, amid all scrutiny, EY has denied any connection between the CA’s death and her workload. The company insists on following industry-standard practices for employee welfare.  

Last week, EY’s official statement was around "the highest importance on the well-being of all employees" while "taking the family's (the deceased CA’s family) correspondence with the utmost seriousness and humility." 

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