Wipro Extends Bench Time to 6 Months
Junior- to mid-level employees can remain on the bench for up to 180 days before being separated from the company, as other IT companies tighten their bench-time norms
Wipro has extended the bench time for junior- to mid-level employees to six months, allowing them to remain on the bench for up to 180 calendar days before being separated from the company. This revised policy applies to employees in Band 2 and below, and 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.
The move comes as other large IT companies have tightened their bench-time norms. For example, TCS’s 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. This policy is aimed at encouraging a proactive approach to associate allocation while aligning organisational and individual goals.
Wipro's decision to extend the bench time may give the company additional time to redeploy employees without billable projects, particularly as it has not hired freshers in recent quarters. Employees on the bench could be upskilled and moved to available projects, potentially reducing the company’s need to hire and train fresh talent. The company ended the June quarter with 243,044 employees, while IT-services utilisation, excluding trainees, stood at 83.6%.
The revised policy creates a differentiated approach based on Wipro's employee band rather than applying a single bench-time limit across the workforce. For Band 3 and above, Wipro's Extended Bench Leave Programme continues to provide a standard 45-calendar-day bench period. Employees with disabilities are eligible for a75-day period.
## Why it matters The extension of bench time by Wipro is significant in the context of the Indian IT industry, where companies are placing greater emphasis on billable utilisation and faster employee deployment. The move may help Wipro to retain its existing talent and reduce the need for fresh hiring, which can be a costly and time-consuming process. However, it also means that employees who do not secure a project allocation within 180 days could be separated from the company, in line with the terms of their employment contracts.
## What happens next Wipro's decision to extend the bench time may have implications for the company's hiring strategy and employee management practices. The company may need to invest in upskilling and reskilling its employees to ensure that they are able to take on new projects and roles. Additionally, the company may need to review its employment contracts and policies to ensure that they are aligned with the revised bench-time norms.
The extension of bench time by Wipro is also likely to be watched closely by other IT companies, which may consider similar moves to retain their talent and reduce costs. The Indian IT industry is highly competitive, and companies are constantly looking for ways to improve their efficiency and productivity. The revised bench-time norms may be seen as a way to achieve this goal, but they also raise questions about the impact on employees and the potential risks of separation from the company.
