Tata Technologies has put around 400 employees on the bench on account of the “changed business environment” due to the impact of COVID-19.

A company spokesperson stated that fewer than 400 employees had been benched –– an industry term to keep employees on the rolls without active projects. This will be followed by a period of paid leave, and then by unpaid leave.

“In response to the changed business environment, we are focused on making Tata Technologies a nimble, responsive and flexible organization. Consequently, we have undertaken several actions including optimization of our bench resources,” the spokesperson stated.

These employees will however continue to be on the company rolls and their families will be covered under its health insurance policy till year-end.

In case they opt to not take the option (bench), the statutory redundancy process would be applicable. An overwhelming majority of such employees have opted to go on paid/unpaid leave option as it allows them to be on the rolls and also avail group Mediclaim which is important under current circumstances. The company intends to bring them back on full-time roles if demand resumes, as anticipated.

The impact of COVID-19 has been felt in many organizations and sectors. However, some organizations have also started to reverse the actions they undertook when the pandemic hit. For instance, on March 25th, MakeMyTrip announced that the leadership team had agreed to take a 50% pay cut and co-founders Deep Kalra and Rajesh Magow had announced that they will be taking zero salaries from April. Now after almost three months, the online travel company has decided to reverse its pay cuts of employees up to senior manager levels. The two phases of unlock in India and the resumption of essential travel have affected MakeMyTrip’s business positively.