Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has reinforced its work-from-office (WFO) policy by linking office attendance compliance more closely with employee appraisal outcomes. As part of this approach, the company has paused final clearance of anniversary appraisals for certain employees who did not meet prescribed in-office attendance requirements during earlier quarters of the current financial year.
According to internal communications cited in media reports, the appraisal process for affected employees may have been completed at the business or unit level but has not received final approval. As a result, the release of appraisal outcomes has been temporarily withheld.
At TCS, anniversary appraisals follow a structured annual cycle based on an employee’s date of joining. Fresh graduates typically receive confirmation of their appraisal upon completing one year of service, with updates reflected in internal systems. Lateral hires, however, have not been eligible for final anniversary appraisals since 2022.
The current action reportedly applies to employees who did not comply with office attendance norms during specific quarters, including up to the second quarter of FY26 (July–September 2025). Some employees were informed that their appraisal exercises would not proceed further due to this non-compliance.
The communications also indicated that continued failure to meet attendance requirements in subsequent quarters could delay appraisal commitments beyond prescribed timelines. This may result in employees being excluded from the FY26 performance banding cycle, meaning no performance rating or band would be assigned for the year.
The move highlights TCS’ continued emphasis on consistent in-office presence and its decision to align performance management processes more closely with adherence to workplace attendance policies, even as several peers in the IT services sector continue to operate under hybrid work models.
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