
Rajiv Memani, Ernst and Young (EY)India chairman has claimed that EYemployee Anna Sebastian Perayil, a Chartered Accountant, did not die due to work pressure, despite the claims made by her mother in a letter.
Perayil's mother had penned a strongly-worded letter to the EY chief that has since gone viral on social media, shedding light on the toxic work culture prevailing in Indian corporate companies.
“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…,” Memani was quoted as saying by The Indian Express newspaper.
Memani also wrote an emailto employees in the aftermath of the controversywith a “do not forward” directive which eventually got leaked online.
"The fact that her journey with the firm was so short-lived - only four months - makes this tragedy even more poignant for all of us," Memani wrote in the leaked letter.
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Despite the uproar from all quarters, Perayil's father,Sibi Josephsaid the family was not considering any legal action against EY.
"My wife wrote the letter to the chairman to ensure that even though our daughter is gone, such a thing should not happen to any other person. We are not going to take any legal steps against the company also," said Joseph.
Reacting to the mother's letter, EY in a statement said, "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 and will continue to do so," the company added.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has launched an investigation into the matter withMinister of State for Labour, Employment and MSME Shobha Karandlaje on Thursday(Sep 19) taking note of the incident.
(With inputs from agencies)