TCS has rolled out a new policy requiring employees to complete at least 225 billed days annually, while limiting bench time to 35 days. This move highlights a growing trend in the IT industry toward tighter workforce management and higher productivity expectations. With companies moving away from traditional staffing models, employees now face greater performance scrutiny and reduced idle time. The shift signals a new phase in how Indian IT firms balance efficiency with talent retention.

Experts point out that limiting the bench time for its benched employees is to set in place higher rigour of execution internally to improve efficiency. “It also communicates clearly and emphatically to the employees about the seriousness of bench utilisation. As a result, it sets the tone for the younger employees about learning agility and the responsibility they need to take for continuous learning and striving for excellence. The employees who have lost the shine of their work life and capabilities get the message clearly to shape up rapidly and no space in the organization for mediocrity,” pointed out Aditya Narayan Mishra, the CEO and MD of CIEL HR.

This expert also says that in today’s scenario, if an employee is benched for a longer duration and is not getting new billable project then it means that the job of a that employee can get affected and there is a likelihood that that he or she may be laid off in the future if one continues to remain on the bench.

However, as per experts though the termination of services of a benched employee would be the last resort for an IT services company, it may require employees at short notices in case a new project comes in. It might become difficult for a company to look for immediate replacements and hiring new people would be a little expensive taking into consideration the whole process of recruitment and hiring.

Some firms may also initiate termination action against such employees who may exceed the bench limit as that in turn will mean that new projects are not coming regularly and there may not be an immediate need of bench. Also when an employee is on the bench for a long time there is a likelihood as his or her skill sets are not what the different projects require and hence their services may not be required by the organisation.

However, a few large IT companies such as TCS may not terminate the services of such employees who exceed the bench limit rather would give them time to reskill themselves. Benched employees also have to contend with low salaries and compensation compared to those who are part of large billed projects. Also getting new opportunities will become difficult for the benched employees as they will not get exposure to interesting billable projects and will thus lose on gaining exposure.