EY Employee’s Death: Shashi Tharoor Suggests 40-Hour Work Week

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday suggested a 40-hour work week in response to the death of a 26-year-old employee at tax consultancy major Ernst&Young (EY) allegedly due to work pressure. Anna Sebastian Perayil a chartered accountant (CA) from Kerala who worked at EY’s Pune office for four months, died this July. Her mother, Anita Augustine, wrote to EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani, flagging the “glorification” of overwork at the multinational consulting firm.

Taking to his official X account, Tharoor, who is a Member of Parliament from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, said Anna passed away after a cardiac arrest, following “four months of deeply stressful seven-day weeks of 14 hours a day” at the Big Four accounting firm.

He said he had a “deeply emotional and heartrending” conversation with her father, Sibi Joseph.

“He (Anna’s father) suggested, and I agreed, that I raise the issue of legislating, through Parliament, a fixed calendar for all workplaces, whether in the private sector or the public, that would not exceed eight hours a day, five days a week,” Tharoor said.

“Inhumanity at the workplace must be legislated out of existence with stringent punishment and fines for offenders. Human rights do not stop at the workplace,” the Congress MP wrote.

He also said he will raise the matter at the “first opportunity” during the next session of Parliament, which is expected to be held in December.

Anna Sebastian Perayil’s father spoke to the media this week and said she had to work through the night, till 12.30 am. “We advised her to quit, but she insisted that this stint would provide valuable professional exposure,” Siby Joseph said. He also claimed the issue of extreme work pressure was mentioned before the senior officials of the EY, but no action was taken. “She had complained to the assistant manager, but they insisted on working even at night,” he said.

The family alleged that the company responded only after her mother’s letter went viral.

“We are not planning to move legally, but we don’t want anyone else to face the same fate. We don’t want the newbies joining such corporate companies to face similar situations,” Mr Joseph said.