Wipro Bench Policy: Employees Raise Questions Over Unpaid Period

Wipro revised its bench policy, effective October 1, 2026, which allows employees in Band 2 and below to remain on the paid bench for up to 180 calendar days. The change has drawn attention to project allocation and Wipro’s separate Extended Bench Leave Programme (EBLP), which has now also become the subject of a labour department complaint.

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Wipro’s New 180-Day Bench Policy

Under the revised policy, the 180-day period starts when an employee is released from a billable project or returns to India from an onsite assignment without being allocated to another billable project.

Employees in Band 2 and below who do not secure a project within 180 days may be separated from the company in accordance with the terms of their employment contracts.

The policy therefore provides a longer paid bench period but does not guarantee employment beyond the 180-day period.

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The 180-day provision does not apply to Band 3 and above. Their standard bench period remains 45 calendar days, according to reports based on Wipro’s policy. Employees with disabilities have a reported 75-day bench period.

Ex-Wipro Employee Approaches Labour Department

The revised policy comes amid a separate dispute over Wipro’s Extended Bench Leave Programme.

According to a Times of India report, an ex-Wipro employee has approached the labour department over the EBLP.

Also Read: IBM Expands AI and Quantum Research Collaborations in India

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The former employee said that employees whose projects end without an immediate new assignment first receive a 45-day paid bench period. If they do not find a project, they can resign or opt for EBLP.

The EBLP reportedly runs for 90 days initially and can be extended by another 30 days.

During this period, salary and PF contributions stop, according to the former employee cited by TOI. If a suitable billable assignment is found during the EBLP period, the employee can be allocated to the project and payroll resumes.

The complaint represents the former employee’s concerns and does not by itself establish that Wipro has violated labour law. Any legal or regulatory finding would depend on the labour department’s examination of the matter.

What Employees Are Asking

The developments have led to questions around how employees will be deployed during the extended bench period, how quickly internal project opportunities will be made available, and what happens when the applicable bench period ends.

Employee discussions on online forums have also included questions about Wipro’s revised 180-day policy and project allocation. These are individual comments and should not be treated as a representative survey of Wipro’s workforce.

For Wipro employees, the key distinction is that the 180-day paid bench provision and the EBLP are separate arrangements.

The new policy gives Band 2 and below employees more time to secure another project, while the EBLP has separately raised concerns over an unpaid period for employees who remain without an allocation.

The developments will now put greater focus on how Wipro implements the revised bench policy and manages employees who remain without billable project assignments.