The controversy surrounding accounting giants Ernst & Young (EY) refuses to die down even days after the letter written by its late employee Anna Sebastian Perayil's mother went viral on the internet. In the latest development, a LinkedIn post has surfaced claiming that EY's senior officials have threatened its employees with consequences if found engaging in social media conversations surrounding Anna Perayil's passing.
A 26-year-old chartered accountant working in Ernst & Young's Pune office, Kochi-native Anna passed away allegedly due to “work stress”. A letter written by her mother Anita Augustine to EY chairperson Rajiv Memani, detailing the work culture in the office, had exposed the work pressure prevalent in the organisation.
After the letter garnered the attention of the public as well as the government, Rajiv Memani expressed regret that nobody from the company attended Anna's funeral of Sebastian Perayil. "I have conveyed my deepest condolences to the family, although nothing can fill the void in their lives. 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 had said.
Meanwhile on September 22, Sunday, another LinkedIn post made news claiming that EY employees were threatened with "serious action" for participating in conversations about Anna Perayil. The post was from one Nikhil Karla, who claimed to be an activist and business consultant. He shared the screenshots of his conversation with an EY employee who alleged "bulliyng" by her seniors over her social media activity in the light of recent developments. The person was forced to delete her comments due to pressure from her senior collegaues.
Full transcript of the screenshot released by Nikhil Karla:
Hi Nikhil,
I wanted to tell something, just keep my identity - name, department hidden
I commented on a post of someone regarding Anna and I did not tell anything about EY but still I am bullied by a Seniors of my firm that ho can I comment so I had to delete.
Then next day we had a call and are told to not do any comment post or anything. And people who has done this will face serious action. Then I got call from a partner saying how can I do and should take care or serious action can be taken
Nikhil had blurred the name of the handle from which the message was shared so that the person's identity remained undisclosed.
When Rajiv Memani had reacted to Anna's passing on LinkedIn, a woman, who was associated with the South Africa chapter of EY also made a concerning comment. She claimed that she was targeted by the company for raising her voice against workplace discrimination and toxicity. Nazeera Kasi, a Chartered Accountant with the South Africa chapter of EY, claimed that she was facing repercussions after she used the company's ethics hotline to report mental health abuses committed by the management.
Anna Sebastian Perayil's demise: The controversy
The letter written by Anna's mother Anita Augustine to EY chairperson Rajiv Memani, detailing the work culture in the office, exposed the work pressure prevalent in the organisation. The letter sparked a debate online about work-life balance, with many netizens, mostly ex-employees, calling out EY.
Anita ended the letter by saying that she read the “EY's human rights statement”, which bears the signature of the chairman. “I cannot reconcile with the values expressed in the statement... How can EY begin to truly live by the values it professes?” she asks.
“Anna's death should serve as a wake-up call for EY. It is time to reflect on the work culture within your organization and take meaningful steps to prioritize the health and wellness of your employees.”
In another letter, a person claiming to be Anna's colleague confirmed what Anita wrote in the letter about the manager. The employee said the manager bought IPL final tickets and “showed it off on Insta”.