The Ernst & Young (EY) Ignite Learning Week in May offered employees at the consulting and strategy firm a chance to upskill by taking online courses like “Conversing with AI, one prompt at a time” and “How strong is your digital brand in the marketplace?”
However, a report from The Financial Times revealed an unexpected consequence of the week: getting fired for “cheating.” EY staff who virtually attended more than one course at the same time were let go.
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EY requires staff to complete 40 education credits per year, and the classes went towards that total. The firm said that dozens of employees were caught taking multiple courses simultaneously.
To the employees, being fired reportedly came as a shock, considering the overall culture at EY.
Some told FT that they’ve seen other employees do things like take two client calls at once. To them, the company has “a culture of multitasking,” complete with three monitors per person.
According to Glassdoor, the average base salary at EY in New York City is $105,000 yearly, with an average annual bonus of $10,000.
Cheating is a sensitive issue for EY. In 2022, the firm had to pay a $100 million penalty, the largest ever fine leveled against a company of its type, after the Securities and Exchange Commission found that its employees cheated on professional exams and education courses.
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EY joins Meta in firing employees who misuse perks. Last week Meta reportedly let go of close to two dozen employees who used a $25 dinner voucher for items other than dinner over an extended period of time.
EY has almost 400,000 employees globally.