NITES Condemns HCL Technologies’ unethical changes to bonus policy and salary cut

Pune,June 1, 2023 : Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), an association of IT employees, has criticized HCL Technologies for implementing changes to its Engagement Performance Bonus (EPB) policy. As per NITES, these changes have unethically resulted in a reduction in the salaries of employees, contrary to the promises made by the company during their recruitment.

According to information, under the previous policy, HCL Technologies had assured employees that the EPB would be paid at a fixed rate on a monthly basis, even if employees were on the bench. This guarantee provided a sense of stability and security to the employees. However, the company has abruptly altered the policy, implementing a quarterly performance review process to determine EPB payouts. The new policy bases the EPB payout on employee ratings, which range from 80-90% for top performers and a mere 30-40% for the lowest performers. Furthermore, 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.

Harpreet Singh Saluja, President of Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate NITES, said, “NITES strongly condemns HCL Technologies for its unethical policy change, which directly contradicts the promises made to employees during their onboarding. The company’s decision to reduce salaries instead of providing increments goes against fair and just employment practices. In light of these unfair changes, NITES is in the process of filing a complaint with the Labour Ministry, urging them to take appropriate action to safeguard the interests of IT employees. We believe it is essential to hold companies accountable for their actions and ensure that the rights and well-being of employees are protected.”

Saluja further stated that NITES stands in solidarity with the affected employees of HCL Technologies and will do everything within its power to rectify this unjust situation. “ We call upon the management of HCL Technologies to reconsider their decision and reinstate the previous EPB policy that provides fair and consistent compensation to all employees,” he added.

HCL Technologies issued a statement regarding the issue. It states, “At HCL Tech, we have always offered an Engagement “Performance” Bonus (EPB) as part of our total compensation package up to the E3 band. The EPB is typically 3-4 percent of total compensation, and the average payout is approximately 80 percent. Our employment contract identifies EPB as performance-linked variable pay, and this is governed by company policy.  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.”