In the previous July-September quarter too, some employees had got only about 20-40% of their quarterly variable allowances (QVA) while others had even got 0% of it. This was much less as compared to the QVA given out in Q1FY25 which was nearly 70%.
“I was supposed to get ₹50,000- 55,000 in QVA, but ended up getting half last quarter and this quarter it was even less, at a fourth” an employee seeking anonymity told Moneycontrol
.
Another source close to the company said that in Q3, almost 100% of the QVA was paid out to 70% of the employees mostly consisting of the junior-level staff while the remaining 30% of senior employees received their pay outs based on the business unit-wise performances in the company.
Responding to emailed queries sent by Moneycontrol, a TCS spokesperson said, “We don’t comment on speculation.”
Last year, TCS had linked work from office attendance to variable pay out of employees. The HR policy was updated expecting a minimum 85% attendance of employees in the office for them to receive full quarterly variable pay. Also, consistent non-compliance of this could lead to disciplinary actions being taken.
Employees with 75-85% work from office attendance will receive 75% of their variable pay while those with 60-75% attendance will only get 50% of their variable pay. And those with less than 60% attendance won’t be eligible for the quarterly bonus, according to an internal memo.
Delayed wage hikes
On the industry front, TCS has been better positioned than its peers, including Infosys and HCLTech, in terms of rolling out timely salary increments. While TCS began its wage hike cycle in April 2024, or the first quarter, Infosys, HCLTech, and LTIMindtree delayed theirs until Q3 and beyond.
In Q3, TCS also promoted more than 25,000 employees, bringing the total promotions for the fiscal to nearly 20%, or over 1,10,000, of its workforce.
“We promoted over 25,000 associates this quarter, which brought the total promotions this financial year to more than 110,000. We continue to invest in employee upskilling and overall well-being. Our campus hiring for the year is going according to plan and preparations are afoot to onboard a higher number of campus hires next year,” chief human resources officer Milind Lakkad had said.
However, the company’s headcount decreased by 5,370 employees in the third quarter, marking a reversal after two consecutive quarters of headcount growth.
TCS continues to see demand for the upcoming quarters after reporting a strong deal pipeline of over $10.2 billion in a seasonally weak quarter.
