'Will never happen again': EY India Chairman on missing CA's funeral

'Completely alien to our culture', says Rajiv Memani after letter written by grieving mother of deceased employee creates controversy

Rajiv Memani, chairperson of consultancy EY India, has expressed regret for missing Anna Sebastian Perayil's funeral and said it "will never happen again".

In a post on LinkedIn on Thursday evening, Memani wrote that he was "deeply saddened" by Anna's death and "can only imagine" her mother's grief. Anna's mother, Anita Augustine, had written to Memani about the work conditions at EY India and how she believed they contributed to her daughter's death.

Anna died in July in Pune, four months after joining S R Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global.

"Anna would return to her room utterly exhausted, sometimes collapsing on the bed without even changing her clothes, only to be bombarded with messages asking for more reports. She was putting in her best efforts, working very hard to meet the deadlines," Augustine wrote in her letter.

In his LinkedIn post, Memani wrote: "I am deeply saddened, and as a father, I can only imagine Ms Augustine’s grief. I have conveyed my deepest condolences to the family, although nothing can fill the void in their lives."

Augustine had also mentioned that no employee of EY India attended her daughter's funeral in Kerala. Memani said that they "truly regret" missing Anna’s funeral.

"This is completely alien to our culture. It has never happened before; it will never happen again," he said.

"Over the past few days, I am aware that people have, in their social media posts, commented on some of our work practices. It has always been very important to us to create a healthy workplace, and we attach the highest importance to the well-being of our people," he said.

Memani also stated that the "well-being of our people is my top-most priority, and I will personally champion this objective".

"I am absolutely committed to nurturing a harmonious workplace, and I will not rest until that objective is accomplished," the post read.

The issue has sparked a storm on social media, with people sharing their stories of toxic workplaces. Several netizens and former employees of the Big Four consultancies have criticised the culture, saying that long working hours are glorified without "empathy" for employees.

On Friday, 'Business Standard' reported that the Union labour ministry has asked EY India’s management to appear before it and explain its position regarding Anna's death.

Shobha Karandlaje, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, also said that a “thorough investigation” into the allegations of an unsafe and exploitative work environment is underway.

“Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Anna Sebastian Perayil. We are committed to ensuring justice, and @LabourMinistry has officially taken up the complaint,” Karandlaje wrote on social media platform X, responding to a post by former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who had shared a news article about Perayil and described the death as “disturbing on many levels”.