EY Employee Death: The mother of Anna Sebastian Perayil, a 26-year-old Ernst & Young (EY) employee who allegedly passed away due to work-related stress, has accused the company of failing to release her daughter's full and final settlement even two months after her death.
In an interview with The Hindu, Anna's mother, Anita Augustine, claimed that S R Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global in Pune, where Anna was employed, misled the Maharashtra labour department about providing her daughter with compensatory offs. According to Anita, Anna was not granted any compensatory time off or weekends off, contrary to the firm's statements.
Anita also revealed that the final settlement was released only after media coverage drew attention to the issue. "We received the settlement amount on September 18 after media outrage," she said.
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According to the terms of Anna’s employment contract, in the event of an employee’s death, EY is supposed to pay three times the last drawn Cost to Company (CTC). Anna’s CTC was Rs 9.5 lakh, making the payout Rs 28.5 lakh. The family received this sum following increased media scrutiny.
However, the company, in its defence to the labour department, stated that the Rs 28.5 lakh deposited into Anna's account was for the period of employment from March 11, 2024, to July 19, 2024. The firm also claimed it provided double remuneration and compensatory time off for additional work.
Anita contested these assertions, stating that the payment was not for extra work, but was made under the company's policy for the unfortunate death of an employee.
Earlier, EY India Chairperson Rajiv Memani expressed regret for missing Anna's funeral and promised that such an oversight "will never happen again." The incident has put the spotlight on EY after Anita Augustine wrote to Memani, accusing the company of extreme work pressure that contributed to her daughter’s tragic death.