EY's Rajiv Memani Reveals Why No One From Company Attended Anna Sebastian's Funeral

The death of 26-year-old Anna Sebastian Perayil created ripples in India, particularly on social media.

She joined EY four months back and died due to extreme work pressure recently.

The untoward incident came into the limelight after her mother wrote a letter to EY India head Rajiv Memani.

In the letter, her mother accused EY of putting extreme pressure on employees.

She also mentioned that no one from the company attended the funeral.

Responding to her letter, the Chairman of EY Rajiv Memani said that it was an alien thing to the company as it never happened before.

“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. 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,” he wrote on LinkedIn.

His LinkedIn message has evoked negative responses from people as many expressed displeasure over his response.

Here’s what he said in his LinkedIn post: 

“Many of you will be aware of the tragic demise of Anna Sebastian, a young woman who worked in our Pune office, and the anguished letter her mother, Ms Anita Augustine wrote to me.

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. 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.

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.

I would like to affirm 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.”