BENGALURU: TCS has updated its variable pay policy to include work from office as a crucial factor. The revised policy, which was implemented shortly after the company’s quarterly results, has four attendance slabs that determine the variable pay for employees.
According to the new policy, employees who work from office for less than 60% of the time will not receive any variable pay for the quarter. Those with an office attendance between 60-75% will receive 50% of the variable pay, while employees who come to the office 75-85% of the time will be eligible for 75% of the variable pay. Only those with office compliance levels above 85% will receive the full variable pay for the quarter.
TOI had reported in Feb about TCS linking variable payout to complying with its recent return-to-work mandate. Business unit heads have written to their respective teams that assigning grades, which are a prerequisite for rolling out promotions, will depend on their track record of working from office.
The policy also warns that persistent non-compliance with the 85% work from office requirement will result in disciplinary action. “Employees’ compliance to work from home will be reviewed every quarter. In the event an employee is found to be in violation of the laid down policies, there will be implications on the annual performance review, compensation, and career progression of the employee,” the policy stated. An email sent to TCS on the updated policy didn’t elicit a response till the time of going to press.
In their notes to employees after the March quarter results, CEO K Krithivasan and CHRO Milind Lakkad mentioned the importance of returning to office. Krithivasan said, “The last quarter has seen most of you return to the workplace, creating shared experiences, nurturing greater learning, collaboration, and camaraderie.”
Other Indian IT companies, such as Infosys and Wipro, have not linked variable payouts to the return to office mandate. Wipro has distributed an average variable payout of 85% for the March quarter of the FY24, according to the company’s CHRO, Saurabh Govil. This is consistent with the 85% variable pay given to junior employees in the Dec quarter.
TCS employees are expected to work from office all five days of the week. The company is the first among India’s major IT firms to take action against employees who do not comply with this requirement. It has already begun reducing the city allowance for those who do not come to office on all five days.