After TCS, Infosys announces salary hikes as sector overcomes pandemic

Hike will be effective from January 1 next year, quantum to be similar like last year

It seems to be the season of salary hikes in the Indian IT sector. After Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s second largest IT services company, Infosys, too, has decided to offer hikes to its employees. 

The increased pay, along with promotions for some, would be effective from January 1, 2022, which is the financial year’s third quarter for the Bengaluru-based company. 

“The quantum of increase will be identical to what we have done in the previous years,” said U B Pravin Rao, Infosys chief operating officer. In FY20, the average wage hikes for Infosys’ employees in India was around six per cent, while it was between 1-1.5 per cent for those located overseas. 

Soon after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Indian IT majors including TCS, Infosys and Wipro had decided to freeze the salary hike decision as a cautionary move. However, the improved performance and better visibility have now prompted many of them to take a relook at the decision. 

TCS last week announced its decision to raise salary for all its employees, which will be effective from October 1, the beginning of the financial year’s third quarter for the company. “The salary increase will be across all bands of employees and it (the quantum) will be similar to what we had done in the past,” said Milind Lakkad, chief human resource officer at the Tata Group company. 

While announcing its Q2 earnings, Wipro on Tuesday also said it is considering offering increments to junior employees hired through campus recruitment programmes, while it said 80 per cent of employees would be considered for promotions, based on eligibility. 

In the September quarter, Infosys saw its annualised employee attrition rate dipping to a low of 7.8 per cent, compared with 11.7 per cent in Q1, and 18.3 per cent a year ago. The company said that while the pandemic certainly played a role in containing attrition, it also made several interventions like increasing engagements to address the issue. 

In Q2, Infosys added around 5,500 people on gross basis, including about 3,000 fresh recruits and 2,500 laterals (people with experience). Overall in FY21, Rao said, the company would induct around 16,500 freshers recruited through campus programme last year. During the campus placement season, expected to start soon, Infosys is looking at giving making 15,000 offers, he added.