HCLTech asks employees to report to office thrice a week

Following the lead of top IT companies, India’s third largest software services firm HCLTech has asked its employees to report to office thrice a week starting February 19.

Employees who do not follow the directive will face disciplinary action as per company policy.

“All DFS (Digital Foundation Services) employees, irrespective of their band (E0 and above), will be required to work from their designated HCLTech offices for a minimum of three days a week,” HCLTech’s global head-people function DFS Vikas Sharma said in an email to his team on Wednesday, according to an employee.

An HCLTech spokesperson told ET that the company follows a hybrid work model, wherein employees are required to work from the office three days in a week.

However, employees are being warned in HR meetings that failure to do so could attract disciplinary action.

While it is not clear if all employees have received such an email, the mandate to report to the office is likely to be implemented across divisions, ET has learnt.

Over the last few months, IT majors Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro have mandated employees to work from office five days a week, 10 days a month and three days a week, respectively.

Noida-headquartered HCLTech’s senior managers and leadership team have already started working on the hybrid mode, coming to office at least three days a week, as per the email.

“Effective February 19, 2024, the same hybrid work model will be applicable to all employees of Digital Foundation Services, including E0 to E3,” the email said.

The E0 to E3 employees are in the entry to senior manager levels with 1-10 years of experience.

Reporting managers are also instructed to update the shift schedule for all employees on the ‘SMM Portal’, the email added.

Freshers and entry-level employees undergoing on-the-job training will, however, be required to work from office on all five days

HCLTech was the fastest growing among the top five IT firms in the October to December quarter of FY24, reporting over 6% year-on-year growth in net profit as well as revenues at Rs 4,351 crore and Rs 28,446 crore, respectively.

The firm also bucked the hiring trend with employee headcount rising by 3,617 in Q3 to 224,756. Attrition rate at the company is also among the lowest at 12.8%.