December 2024
A group of US-based EY employees have been sacked for breaking the firm’s ethical rules, according to reports in the Financial Times.
The group apparently took part in multiple online training sessions at once as part of the firm’s ‘EY Ignite Learning Week’.
Some employees told the newspaper that the punishment seemed very harsh, and they did not know they were breaking company policy by watching more than one training course at a time.
Others even suggested they were encouraged by a ‘culture of multitasking’.
An EY spokesperson told the FT: “At EY, our core values of integrity and ethics are at the forefront of everything we do. Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken on any violation of our Code of Conduct.”
They continued: “EY US has terminated individuals who, after thorough investigation, were found to have violated our Global Code of Conduct and US Learning Policy.”
In 2022, EY had to pay $100m to the SEC after employees were found to have cheated on ethics exams required to maintain their practising licences. EY was also accused of withholding evidence in the investigation.
