TCS halts anniversary appraisals over work-from-office non-compliance

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has put on hold the final anniversary appraisals of some employees who failed to comply with its work-from-office (WFO) requirements in earlier quarters, tightening the link between attendance and performance outcomes.

The move affects employees whose one-year anniversary appraisals were completed but not processed because of what the company termed “WFO non-compliance”, according to an internal email reviewed by The Times of India. 

The email states that employees who remained non-compliant with office attendance through the July–September 2025 quarter would see their anniversary appraisal halted at the corporate level. In cases where the appraisal was not committed in January due to continued non-compliance in the following quarter, employees would be excluded from the FY26 banding cycle, with no performance band released, the message added.

At TCS, anniversary appraisals follow an annual cycle tied to the completion of an employee’s work anniversary. Eligible freshers typically receive an anniversary email, with updates reflected on the company’s internal portal, Ultimatix. The process begins with formal initiation of the appraisal, after which the reporting manager creates a goal sheet, reviews performance against agreed parameters, and releases banding outcomes. The company discontinued final anniversary appraisals for lateral hires in 2022.

The decision underscores TCS’s strict stance on office attendance. Employees are expected to work from the office five days a week, making TCS the first among India’s major IT services firms to take formal appraisal-related action for non-compliance. Most peers mandate office presence for two or three days a week.

TCS has already linked variable pay to attendance compliance, signalling a broader push to enforce its return-to-office policy. Last year, the company also tightened rules around exceptions. The Times of India reported that employees can cite personal emergencies for up to six days per quarter, with no carry-forward of unused days. To address space constraints, staff are allowed to submit up to 30 exception requests in a single entry, while network-related issues can be cited for up to five entries at once. Bulk uploads or backend entries for attendance exceptions are not permitted.

The appraisal pause comes at a time when Indian IT companies are recalibrating workforce policies amid slower growth, margin pressures and rising scrutiny of productivity. By tying appraisals and banding more closely to physical attendance, TCS appears to be signalling that adherence to its operating model is now as critical as performance metrics.

Whether other large IT firms follow suit remains to be seen, but the move is likely to intensify debate over flexibility, employee autonomy and the future shape of hybrid work in India’s technology sector.