EY employee death: NHRC asks companies to review work culture, seeks report from Ministry of Labour

New Delhi: Expressing serious concern over the death of a young woman professional due to “work pressure”, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Saturday asked businesses to review their work culture and employment policies to ensure alignment with global human rights standards.

It also asked the Ministry of Labour and Employment to submit a “detailed report” within four weeks on issues, including the progress into the probe it had announced into the incident as well as steps taken to ensure that such incidents do not recur.

The death of 26-year-old Anna Sebastain Perayil within four months of joining Ernst & Young (EY) triggered a controversy after her mother Anitha said that "work pressure" had claimed her daughter's life on July 20.

The NHRC said the reason for her death, if true, raises “serious issues regarding challenges faced by young citizens at work, suffering from mental stress, anxiety, and lack of sleep, adversely affecting their physical and mental health while chasing impractical targets and timelines resulting in grave violations of their human rights”.

In a statement, it said, it is the prime duty of every employer to provide a safe, secure and positive environment to its employees and they must ensure that everyone working with them is treated with dignity and fairness.

“Businesses should take accountability for human rights issues and regularly update and revise their work and employment policies and regulations to ensure alignment with global human rights standards. The painful death of the young employee in the instant case has indicated that there is an immediate need to take steps by all the stakeholders in this regard to stop such incidents in the country,” the NHRC said.

Quoting media reports, the statement said that the mother has claimed that her daughter’s death is “reflective of the larger work culture, which glorifies hard work but at the cost of health”. She has stated that how can a company that speaks of values and human rights fail even to show up for the funeral of one of its own employees, it said.