Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Jan 8: IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has put on hold final anniversary appraisals for a section of its employees due to non-compliance with its mandatory work-from-office (WFO) policy in earlier quarters, sources said.
The final anniversary appraisal at TCS follows an annual cycle after an employee completes one year of service. Eligible freshers receive an anniversary email, and the update is reflected on the company’s internal portal, Ultimatix. However, the company had discontinued anniversary appraisals for lateral hires in 2022.
According to an internal communication reviewed by Times of India, employees who failed to meet WFO norms in specific quarters have had their appraisal process halted. The email stated that while the appraisal process may have been completed, it was not processed further by corporate authorities due to WFO non-compliance. As a result, such employees will also be excluded from the FY26 banding cycle and will not receive a performance band.
The appraisal process typically involves initiation by the management, preparation of a goal sheet by the reporting manager, goal submission by the employee, and performance evaluation based on yearly targets. The final outcome determines the employee’s performance band and career progression.
TCS currently mandates employees to work from the office five days a week, making it the first major Indian IT firm to strictly enforce full-time office attendance. In contrast, most other IT companies require physical presence for two to three days a week. The company has also linked variable pay to office attendance to ensure compliance.
Last year, TCS revised its WFO exception policy, allowing employees to cite personal emergencies for up to six days per quarter, without carry-forward. To address infrastructure constraints, employees can submit up to 30 exceptions in a single entry, while network-related issues can be raised in up to five entries at a time. Bulk uploads or backdated exception entries have been disallowed.
TCS did not respond to queries on the issue till the time of filing this report.