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<\/p>\nIndia’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.<\/p>\n
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The complaint was filed by the Pune-based IT employees’ union, Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), in July 2023.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The notice from the labour ministry, which Business Standard<\/em> 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.”<\/p>\n The notice further specifies that a company representative with valid documents should be present at the meeting venue.<\/p>\n An email sent to TCS didn’t elicit any response till the time of going to press.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n He also added that the number has now reportedly exceeded 2,000, though this could not be independently confirmed.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Many candidates, as confirmed by those interviewed by Business Standard<\/em>, have resigned from their previous companies, assuming the offer letter from TCS was imminent.<\/p>\n “I have completed all interview rounds, and the human resource (HR) department sent me the salary breakdown via email for acknowledgement.<\/p>\n “I accepted the salary terms, and HR said they would release the offer letter within a week.<\/p>\n “It’s been four months, and despite numerous calls to HR, they claim it’s on hold and will take more time.<\/p>\n “I have already resigned and am now unemployed because of TCS,” said one affected individual.<\/p>\n Many others are still awaiting offer letters from the company.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n “Many believed that a company of TCS’ stature if they went to such lengths, would hire them.<\/p>\n “I resigned three months ago and am now jobless,” said another candidate based in Bengaluru.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n This uncertainty has also affected the campus hiring targets of these companies.<\/p>\n While TCS intends to hire 40,000 freshers, they have indicated potential delays in onboarding these new recruits.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Infosys and Wipro have decided not to conduct campus recruitment this year.<\/p>\n