EY Employee Death: Probe Reveals Firm Lacked Required Labour Welfare Permit

EY Employee Death: The Maharashtra labour department has said that EY's Pune office was not registered under the state's Shops and Establishments Act, a law that regulates working hours

EY Employee Death: EY faces increasing scrutiny in India after the death of 26-year-old audit executive Anna Sebastian Perayil, who allegedly succumbed to a "backbreaking" workload, according to her mother. The incident has triggered both a state-level inspection and a federal investigation into working conditions at the firm's Pune office, which has been operational since 2007 without a mandatory state permit, as per a report by Reuters.

The Maharashtra labour department has revealed that EY's Pune office was not registered under the state's Shops and Establishments Act, a law that regulates working hours, after an inspection by the state's additional labour commissioner, Shailendra Pol. The act mandates a nine-hour daily cap on working hours and limits weekly hours to 48 for adult employees.

"The company applied for registration only in February 2024, which we rejected as the office had been operating since 2007 without compliance," Pol told Reuters on Tuesday. EY has been given seven days to explain the lapse.

Under the labour law, companies found in violation of registration requirements that result in serious injury or death can face severe penalties, including imprisonment for up to six months or a fine of up to Rs 500,000, or both.

This development follows a letter from Perayil’s mother, Anita Augustine, blaming EY’s demanding work culture for her daughter’s death, which she attributed to cardiac arrest. Augustine’s letter, which went viral on social media, described her daughter’s gruelling work schedule, including long hours into the night and weekends without rest.

The tragedy has reignited debates about employee welfare in high-pressure corporate environments. Similar concerns surfaced after the death of a junior banker at Bank of America in May, prompting JPMorgan to create a new role to address worker well-being.

Pol confirmed that his team has requested further documentation from EY, including employee work logs, welfare policies, and any evidence of excessive workload demands on Perayil during her brief four-month tenure as an associate at the firm.

EY India has not yet responded to Reuters’ requests for comment but previously noted its commitment to employee well-being, stating that it is taking the family’s concerns "with the utmost seriousness and humility." The case has brought renewed focus on the need for better safeguards to protect employees from the toll of high-pressure jobs, particularly in sectors like finance and consulting, where heavy workloads are common.