Not taking EY to court, says dead CA's father

BENGALURU: After labour ministry initiated probe into the tragic death of Ernst & Young (EY) India employee Anna Sebastian Perayil, her father, Sibi Joseph clarified that the family is not pursuing legal action against EY.

"She cleared her CA in Feb this year and in March joined the firm. We used to speak to her every day and her major grouse was extreme work pressure. She was engaged in an audit of Bajaj Auto. Most of the days she used to work till 12.30 in the night and get back to her paying accommodation by 1.30am," Joseph told news agency IANS.

The family alleged that Anna was under work stress and had not maintained a proper diet due to her demanding work schedule.

Her death triggered an uproar after a lengthy letter by Anna's mother, Anita Augustine, to EY chairman Rajiv Memani went viral on social media on Wednesday. Augustine voiced her concerns regarding the excessive workload placed on her daughter, a newcomer to the company, which indicated that Anna ultimately succumbed to work-related stress. Anna had joined the company in March, after completing CA, and passed away on July 20.

Late Thursday, Memani took to LinkedIn to express his regret for being unable to attend Anna's funeral, describing it as uncharacteristic of the firm's culture. "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." Memani, however, said that Anna's death was not a result of work pressure and that all EY employees are assigned equal workloads.

Former HCL CEO Vineet Nayar took to LinkedIn to say that across industries, young employees are overworked under the guise of "training" or "preparation for the real world." Although hard work is essential, extreme hours should not become standard.

World Health Organisation links long working hours to a 35% increased risk of stroke and a 17% higher risk of heart disease. Nayar said this prevalent pattern sees young professionals working tirelessly for weeks or months without a break, fostering a toxic culture where exhaustion is celebrated and well being is ignored.