TCS, India’s largest IT services provider, has made significant updates to its work policy, tightening office attendance rules for employees. The latest directive reinforces the company’s push toward a structured in-office work model, deviating from hybrid work arrangements still practiced by many competitors.
Key Changes in the WFO Policy
- Emergency Leave Flexibility
- Employees can mark up to six days per quarter as personal emergency leave.
- Unused emergency leave can be carried over to the next quarter.
- Exception Entries and Network Issues
- Employees can submit up to 30 exception requests in a single entry.
- Network-related issues can be logged for up to five entries at once.
- Requests not submitted within 10 days will be automatically rejected.
- Backdated entries are allowed only for the last two working days.
- Missing WFO entries for the current month can be raised until the 5th of the following month.
- Ban on Backend Entry and Bulk Uploads
- TCS has banned bulk uploads and backend entry modifications, ensuring stricter monitoring of employee attendance records.
TCS Leads the Five-Day Office Mandate
Among Indian IT giants, TCS has taken the lead in enforcing a five-day work-from-office policy, while competitors continue with a two- or three-day hybrid model. This shift highlights the company’s commitment to full office-based operations in the long run. However, HR Head Milind Lakkad has indicated that the policy may be revisited once operational stability is achieved.
Focus on Workplace Culture
Lakkad also emphasized the need to foster a positive work environment, urging managers to provide constructive feedback and promote a culture where employees feel motivated and engaged.
Variable Pay Update
Following TCS’s recent quarterly results, Lakkad announced that entry-level employees will receive full variable pay, while mid- and senior-level employees’ pay will be linked to business performance.
Conclusion
The latest changes in TCS’s WFO policy mark a shift toward stricter in-office requirements, reinforcing the company’s long-term vision. However, potential policy revisions in the future may provide some relief to employees seeking flexible work arrangements.
