TCS employees to get variable pay based on office attendance: Report

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has implemented a new policy affecting its employees' eligibility for quarterly bonuses based on their attendance.

The IT firm in its new policy said that employees with attendance below 60% are reportedly set to be ineligible for the bonus.

This decision follows the recent requirement for TCS employees to work from the office five days a week.

As per a report by the Times of India, the new policy allocates 50% variable pay for employees maintaining attendance between 60% and 75% for the quarter. Employees with 75-85% attendance will receive 75% variable pay, while those with attendance levels above 85% will receive their full variable pay.

Failure to comply with the attendance requirements may result in disciplinary action, according to the report.

K Krithivasan, CEO and MD of TCS, has voiced confidence in the success of the company's return-to-office policy, highlighting its role in preserving TCS' organisational culture.

He stated that approximately 65% of TCS associates are now attending the office 3–5 days a week, a quarter after the policy's implementation, distinguishing TCS from its industry counterparts.

Krithivasan underscored the primary objectives of the "return to office" approach as ensuring associates receive optimal value and maintaining an organisational culture. He expressed optimism that, with the positive incentives provided, a majority of employees would return to the office within the next few quarters.

TCS recently reported a decline in full-year headcount for the first time since its listing in 2004. Year-on-year, the company's headcount decreased by over 13,249 for the fiscal year. On a sequential basis, the headcount decreased by 1,759.

Compared to the previous fiscal year, the firm's addition to the number of employees was notably lower. While the total headcount was 614,795 in FY23 with a net addition of 22,600 employees for the year, the company is now among the early adopters of hiring freshers through campus recruitment.

"We are still calibrating the total freshers we want to hire for FY25. Our plan is to reach the 40,000 number, but we will see how it goes," said Milind Lakkad, Chief HR Officer at TCS.