Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) one of India’s biggest IT companies has started a new rule for its employees. From June 12 the company requires every employee to be assigned to a project for at least 225 business days in a year. This means employees can be without a project often called “on the bench”  for no more than 35 working days in a year. The main aim of this new policy is to reduce the number of people who are idle and not working on a project and to make better use of the company’s workforce. However after one month of this rule being in place it has started to worry many employees. An IT workers union called NITES (Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate) said that many employees have shared serious concerns about the new rule. According to the union this policy has created a lot of stress fear and pressure among the staff. Employees who are between projects are feeling pushed to quickly find new ones often without proper help from TCS’s internal systems. The union also claimed that if an employee stays on the bench for more than 35 days they are being asked to resign. In addition employees who do not meet the 225-day work requirement might face problems such as: Reduced pay Fewer chances to go abroad Slower career growth Risk of losing their job How much does freshers earn at TCS According to data from ambitionbox.com here are some typical salaries for freshers and junior roles at TCS: Assistant System Engineer Trainee: Rs. 2.8 – Rs. 4.3 lakh per year System Engineer: Rs. 3.9 – Rs. 7.6 lakh per year Assistant System Engineer: Rs. 2.5 – Rs. 5 lakh per year Software Developer: Rs. 6.7 – Rs. 10 lakh per year Software Engineer: Rs. 5.2 – Rs. 9.2 lakh per year Associate Systems Engineer: Rs. 3 – Rs. 4.5 lakh per year The new bench policy is now under the spotlight with employees and unions calling for better support and more fair treatment during project gaps.