HCLTech warns employees to report to office thrice a week or face disciplinary action

An employee, requesting anonymity, said management is warning of leave without pay if employees don't report to office three days a week

Software services firm HCLTech has asked employees to report to office thrice a week, failing which they will have to face disciplinary action, starting February 19. The missive from India’s third-largest IT company follows peers such as TCS, Infosys, and Wipro, who have mandated employees to work from office five days a week, 10 days a month, and three days a week, respectively.

“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 Vikas Sharma, global head – people function DFS, was quoted as saying in an email dated February 14.

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

Micro managing

“Management is warning of leave without pay if employees don't report to office three days a week, in HR meetings,” said an employee requesting anonymity.

The employee further said productivity is being monitored closely, and employees are being asked to maintain eight hours of laptop activity at the least. “Escalations are happening if this time is not met,” the employee added.

The company in the missive said, “Non-compliance... will be treated as unauthorised absence and call for disciplinary action in line with company policy.”

HCLTech said senior managers and the leadership team have already transitioned to hybrid mode of work and are coming to office at least three days a week, the letter read. “Effective February 19, 2024, the same hybrid work model will be applicable to all employees of Digital Foundation Services, including E0 to E3,” the letter read.

For context, a typical employee in the E3 band has about 8-10 years of experience.

Reporting managers have been tasked to ensure that shift schedule for all employees is updated in its “SMM Portal.” Freshers undergoing training or on-the-job training will be required to work from office on all five days.

Also read: Efficiency engineering, cost reduction driving BFSI deals: HCLTech’s Srinivasan Seshadri

For the December quarter, HCLTech reported a 6.23 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth in net profit at Rs 4,351 crore, which was the best performance amongst the top-five Indian IT companies. On employee headcount, HCLTech’s net headcount increased by 3,617 in Q3, bucking the trend of a fall amongst its large-cap peers.

Also read: Indians aren't ready to return to office: 71% prefer flexibility to better pay, finds survey