TCS gets notice from Maha Labour Ministry over lateral onboarding delay

While the number of lateral employees impacted by this delay could not be confirmed, according to NITES complaint filed in July, over 200 employees were impacted

India’s largest information technology (IT) services company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has received a notice from the Maharashtra government’s Ministry of Labour & Employment regarding the company's delay in onboarding lateral recruits. The complaint was filed by the Pune-based IT employees’ union, Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), in July 2023.

While the exact number of lateral employees affected by this delay could not be confirmed, according to the NITES complaint filed in July, over 200 employees were impacted.

The notice from the labour ministry, which Business Standard has seen, states: “A joint meeting between the company and the complainant will be held to address the issue on November 2, 2023, at noon.” The notice further specifies that a company representative with valid documents should be present at the meeting venue.

An email sent to TCS didn’t elicit any response till the time of going to press.

Harpreet Saluja, president of NITES, said in a statement, “NITES has drawn attention to the plight of these employees who, in good faith, resigned from their previous positions after receiving employment offers and joining dates from TCS. These professionals, with varying experience levels ranging from 1.8 to 15 years, now find themselves without a source of income, facing financial distress, and unable to meet family responsibilities."

He also added that the number has now reportedly exceeded 2,000, though this could not be independently confirmed.

Meanwhile, hundreds of other IT employees who were interviewed by TCS and were informed of their selection, though no offer letter was provided, are still waiting for the final offer letter. Many candidates, as confirmed by those interviewed by Business Standard, have resigned from their previous companies, assuming the offer letter from TCS was imminent.

“I have completed all interview rounds, and the human resource (HR) department sent me the salary breakdown via email for acknowledgement. I accepted the salary terms, and HR said they would release the offer letter within a week. It’s been four months, and despite numerous calls to HR, they claim it’s on hold and will take more time. I have already resigned and am now unemployed because of TCS,” said one affected individual.

Many others are still awaiting offer letters from the company.

“In the IT industry, certain gestures from an HR representative of a company are considered an indication of selection, and an offer letter is seen as a mere formality. Many believed that a company of TCS’ stature if they went to such lengths, would hire them. I resigned three months ago and am now jobless," said another candidate based in Bengaluru.

TCS, along with several other IT firms, has been grappling with uncertain macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted deal ramp-ups, led to a halt in decisions regarding discretionary spending, and provided no clarity on when this situation will be resolved.

This uncertainty has also affected the campus hiring targets of these companies. While TCS intends to hire 40,000 freshers, they have indicated potential delays in onboarding these new recruits. Meanwhile, Infosys and Wipro have decided not to conduct campus recruitment this year.