Ernst & Young India responded to the tragic death of its 26-year-old employee, Anna Sebastian Perayil, by expressing its condolences and emphasizing its commitment to creating a healthier work environment.

The firm issued a statement mourning the loss of a chartered accountant from Kerala, Perayil.

They expressed deep sadness and reiterated their efforts to enhance workplace conditions across their offices in the country.

This response followed a poignant letter from Perayil’s mother, Anita Augustine, which gained widespread attention. In her letter to EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani, she attributed her daughter’s deteriorating health to “excessive workload” and criticized what she described as “four months of EY’s callous attitude.”

Describing her daughter as a “fighter”, Augustine said that she topped all her examinations in school as well as college, and worked “tirelessly” at EY, “giving her all to meet the demands placed on her”.

“However, the workload, new environment and long hours took a toll on her physically, emotionally and mentally,” Augustine said.

“But, she kept pushing herself, believing that hard work and perseverance were the keys to success,” Augustine said in the letter.

“On Saturday, July 6, my husband and I reached Pune to attend Anna’s CA Convocation. Since she had been complaining of chest constriction upon reaching her PG late at night (around 1 am) for the past week, 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. Though we had come all the way from Kochi, she insisted on going to work after seeing the doctor, saying there was a lot of work to be done and she wouldn’t get leave,” she said.

“That night, she returned to her PG late again. On Sunday, July 7, the day of her convocation, she joined us in the morning, but she was working from home even that day until the afternoon, and we reached the convocation venue late,” she added.

“When Anna joined this specific team, she was told that many employees had resigned due to the excessive workload, and the team manager said to her, ‘Anna, you must stick around and change everyone’s opinion about our team.’ My child didn’t realise she would pay for that with her life,” she said in the letter.

“Her manager would often reschedule meetings during cricket matches and assign her work at the end of the day, adding to her stress. At an office party, a senior leader even joked that she would have a tough time working under her manager, which, unfortunately, became a reality she could not escape.”

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Her manager would often reschedule meetings during cricket matches and assign her work at the end of the day, adding to her stress. At an office party, a senior leader even joked that she would have a tough time working under her manager, which, unfortunately, became a reality she could not escape.

With the help of her letter, Anita Augustine also aimed to spread awareness, saying: “I hope my child’s experience leads to real change so that no other family has to endure the grief and trauma we are going through.”

Ernst & Young issues statement

Ernst & Young issued a statement, saying they will continue to find ways to improve and provide a healthy workplace.

“We are deeply saddened by Anna Sebastian’s tragic and untimely passing in July 2024, and our deepest condolences go to the bereaved family. 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 EY India statement read.

“We are taking the family’s correspondence with the utmost seriousness and humility. We place the highest importance on the well-being of all employees and will continue to find ways to improve and provide a healthy workplace for our 100,000 people across EY member firms in India,” it added.

Australia has granted millions of workers the legal right to “disconnect” starting on August 26. This allows employees to ignore unreasonable out-of-hours calls, emails, and texts from their employers unless the refusal to respond is deemed “unreasonable”.