Employee death case: Notice to EY's Pune office for violation of rules, Labor Department takes action

The Pune office of Ernst & Young, which came into the news after the death of a female CA, was running without taking a license under the Shops Act since 2007. Besides other conditions, this act also exists for the welfare of employees. An official of the Maharashtra Labor Department said that this is a violation of rules. A notice is to be issued to the firm, after which further action would be taken depending upon its response.

The Shops and Establishments Act governs all types of business activities, including the welfare of employees, while ensuring health and financial security and protecting their rights. Following instructions from the Central Government over the death of Chartered Accountant Anna Sebastian Perayil, an official of the Maharashtra Labour Department inspected the EY office here on Monday.

The 26-year-old woman died in July allegedly due to work-related stress. She had joined the firm in Pune just four months ago. Following her death, Sebastian's mother wrote to EY India chairman Rajiv Memani that her daughter's health got affected because of workload and extended working hours. However, the company has denied such charges.

Additional labour commissioner Shailendra Pol on Wednesday said the EY office was inspected under eight to nine legal provisions relating to the Shops and Establishments Act, minimum wages, maternity benefits, wage payment and overtime wages. "During the inspection, it was found that the EY Pune office had not obtained a licence under the Shops and Establishments Act since its inception in 2007," he said.

Pol said not obtaining the Shops Act licence was a clear violation (of norms). "A show cause notice will be issued by our shop inspector and we will await their response. Further action will be decided accordingly," the official said. Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had recently said that Sebastian's death was being investigated.