Employee union NITES files complaint against HCLTech in Labour Ministry

Employee union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) has filed a complaint against HCLTech for the changes made by the company in its Engagement Performance Bonus (EPB) policy which has led to reduction in salaries of some employees, Business Today has learned.

NITES President Harpreet Singh Saluja told Business Today, “In light of the unfair changes made by HCLTech, NITES has filed a complaint with the Labour Ministry, urging them to take appropriate action to safeguard the interests of IT employees.”

HCLTech has changed its policy related to Engagement Performance Bonus, as previously reported by Business Today. 

As per the previous version of this policy, employees were paid EPB on a monthly basis. Under the new policy, EPB would only be paid on a quarterly basis. Moreover, employees on the bench would not be eligible to receive EPB, which would in turn reduce their monthly salary. Also, employees leaving the company mid quarter will also become ineligible to receive the EPB part of their salary for that quarter, as per the communication sent by HCLTech to its employees.

The email to employees read, “Employees on bench will not be eligible for EPB payout for the period they are on bench.”

 “Achievement is computed on a quarterly basis, if the employee resigns during the quarter, no EPB amount will be paid for that quarter,” the email sent to employees read.

The President of the employee union told Business Today, “Now, as per company’s new policy, employees who are on the bench will not receive any EPB payout at all. Consequently, this sudden change in policy has caused significant monetary losses for the affected employees.  The company's decision to reduce salaries instead of providing increments goes against fair and just employment practices.”

The company confirmed this change in the HR policy but added that this has always been the norm and the changes were made only during the pandemic to support employees. 

An HCLTech spokesperson said in a statement, “ To support employees during the pandemic, the company made a policy exception and paid 100% EPB irrespective of performance. Post-pandemic, the company is reverting to the original policy. This has been communicated to our employees.”

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