
A former employee of software services giant Infosys revealed that they were paid a meagre salary of Rs 35,000 per month, which remained unchanged throughout his time at the company from 2008 to 2017.
Taking to Reddit, they described in detail what they called “9 years of unchained slavery” at Infosys.
The post, made in the subreddit r/bangalore, discusses the user's experience working at Infosys and their experiences working in other software companies after quitting Infosys. The Reddit user described their experience working for the Bengaluru-based IT (Information Technology) giant, which included below-average salary and raises, and strict attendance rules.
One of the most apparent differences pointed out by the user was the rapid pay hikes they received after quitting Infosys, compared to the stagnant salary and career growth there. They claim that they were paid Rs 35,000 per month when they left Infosys. After seven years of working in various organisations, their compensation has increased by more than 400 per cent to Rs 1.7 lakh per month.
“ Whenever I refer ex-colleagues from Infosys to my current company, they often receive an 80-100% hike, which underscores how underpaid they continue to be (.sic),” the techie wrote.
Speaking about the lack of career progression at Infosys, they mentioned that the company did not have promotions in the “real sense,” ie, with added responsibilities and increased pay, but rather a system called “progression.” Under this system, employees would be moved up a sub-level without any meaningful change in job or pay scales.
They also mentioned that employees would receive annual appraisals in single digits (4 - 6 per cent). In addition, Infosys never used to adjust salary scales based on macroeconomic conditions (market corrections).
Moreover, a lot of perks that employees received in other software companies, like monthly transport or free parking, were not present at Infosys, the techie wrote. They allege that employees have to pay for parking at Infosys themselves. Further, food available in the IT giant’s cafeteria was also more expensive than that of most other companies, they claim.
Another issue raised by the techie was the 90-day notice term (or three-month notice period), which makes changing jobs difficult. In addition, they claimed that Infosys required employees to maintain a monthly presence on campus, which was tracked using ID card swipes. “This led to absurd scenarios like employees visiting the campus on weekends to complete laundry, just to meet the required hours (.sic),” they write.
Shattering illusions of job security that many thought the company provided, the techie says, “I’ve seen colleagues who left Infosys find new roles within 3-5 months, if not sooner (.sic).”
“I thought the norms there were universal across the IT industry. But over the last 7+ years, working in other organizations has been a revelation,” they write.
These allegations come at a time when India Inc is grappling with a heated and prolonged debate on work-life balance, employee salaries and benefits compared to their work, and exploitative corporate labour practices.
Ironically, these discussions were sparked by Infosys Co-founder Narayana Murthy’s advocacy for a “70-hour work week” and his public rejection of the concept of the concept of work-life balance.