IT Giant HCL Reportedly Asked Resigning Employees To 'Return' Their Bonuses

Over the past few days, Indian IT giant HCL Technologies has been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism.

The company has reportedly asked employees who are quitting the firm to return the performance-based bonuses that were granted to them every month during this fiscal year.

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Employees Approach Union

For the affected HCL employees, many of whom have already spent the complete or at least part of the bonus money, this demand of returning the received bonuses is turning out to be burdensome.

Hence, some of them have approached IT employee unions.

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Letters To Labor Minister & HCL Chairperson

The President of Pune-based IT/ITES union NITES (Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate), Harpreet Saluja, has written a letter to Labour minister Bhupender Yadav, stating that the union has received multiple complaints from HCL employees across India on the matter.

Saluja said "If the employees fail to pay the amount, his/her experience certificate, relieving letter and other employment documents & benefits are withheld by the company," He described HCL's policy to recover the money as "iniquitous, arbitrary and harsh."

Further, Saluja also said that "It is also to be noted that such recovery policy without any statutory approval is resulting in hardship and it far outweighs the equitable balance of the employer's right to recover. It is almost impossible for an employee to bear the financial burden of a refund of payment of bonus received over a period of time under the pandemic conditions,".

And that¡¯s not all.

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All India Professionals' Congress (AIPC)¡¯s Adv. Mathew Antony too has reportedly written to Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson of HCL Technologies, expressing strong concerns over this issue.

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HCL¡¯s Take On The Criticism

HCL has been firm that the company is not doing anything that the employees did not already know. It was reportedly clearly stated in an earlier mail to the employees.

Reportedly, an HCL email sent in November 2021 mentioned that the employee performance bonus (EPB) will be paid on a monthly basis and as an advance.

The mail further stated that If the employee resigns and the last working day is from September 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, the EPB amount from April 2021, till the last working day will be recovered in full.

Also Read: HCL Offers Rs 700 Crore Special Bonus To Employees After $10 Billion Valuation

HCL Spokesperson¡¯s Statement

When Times of India contacted HCL, its spokesperson stated that supporting employees is HCL's top priority. We have strict global compliance policies whereby every relevant applicable law, including those applicable to employees are adhered to as per the laws of the countries we operate in.

The spokesperson also mentioned that HCL would like to put on record that the matter around the recovery of bonuses has been incorrectly reported. As a law-abiding organization, HCL follows the best HR practices and continues to honour commitments and work in a fair and equitable manner towards all including employees.

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