Bengaluru: When several IT firms are tightening restrictions on employee bench time, Wipro has eased its policy, allowing junior- to mid-level employees in Band 2 and below to remain on the bench for up to six months (180 calendar days), effective Oct 1.
The move comes as other large IT companies have tightened bench-time norms from 45-60 days. TCS ’ updated associate deployment policy mandates employees to be billed for 225 days annually, effectively limiting bench time to a maximum of 35 business days a year. On the other hand, Wipro employees in B2 and below who do not secure an allocation within 180 days will be separated from the company, in accordance with their employment contracts, according to the policy document reviewed by TOI . Last year, Wipro onboarded about 7,500 graduates, taking its headcount to 2.4 lakh employees. For employees in Band 3 and above, the standard bench period under EBLP remains 45 calendar days. Employees with disabilities get a 75-day bench period, according to the policy.
The revised policy starts from the day an employee is released from a billable project or returns to India from an onsite assignment without being allocated to another billable project.
Though Wipro declined to comment on TOI ’s questions, industry experts said the longer bench period could give the company more time to redeploy unbilled employees, particularly as it has not hired freshers in the past few quarters. Wipro president and CHRO Saurabh Govil said the company did not hire freshers during the June quarter. “We will reassess hiring depending on the demand environment, but we are not providing any hiring guidance at this point,” Govil said during an earnings call.
The policy is aimed at encouraging a proactive approach to associate allocation while aligning organisational and individual goals. Employees on the bench could be upskilled and deployed on available projects, reducing the need to hire and train new talent. The revised policy formally incorporates the capability development plan (CDP) into compliance requirements and consequence management. Under the CDP provisions, Wipro may place bench employees on a CDP when persistent competency gaps are identified through structured interview evaluations, including failure to clear role-specific assessments conducted by Wipro or its clients. Wipro’s revised policy does not include its Extended Bench Leave Programme (EBLP) for B2 and below.