Wipro Gives Employees Six Months to Find New Projects, Revised Bench Policy

Wipro has revised its bench policy for employees in Band 2 (Junior to mid-level employees), allowing them to remain without a billable project for up to 180 calendar days, or six months.

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The revised policy is effective October 1, 2026. The change comes as several large IT services companies continue to focus on employee deployment and billable utilisation.

Wipro’s revised policy gives eligible employees a substantially longer period to find another project compared with the shorter bench periods reported at some other IT companies.

What is Wipro’s New Bench Policy?

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

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

Also Read: Infosys Plans to Shift One-Third Workforce Into Specialist Roles

The revised policy also brings the Capability Development Plan (CDP) into the compliance and consequence-management process. A single failed interview does not automatically trigger a CDP.

According to TOI, it may be initiated after three successive interview rejections where the roles involve comparable competencies and the identified gaps are consistent, evidence-based and documented.

The 180-day provision does not apply to employees in Band 3 and above. Their standard bench period under the Extended Bench Leave Programme remains 45 calendar days, while employees with disabilities are reported to have a 75-day bench period.

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How Wipro’s Policy Differs From TCS

Wipro’s revised approach differs significantly from the deployment policy introduced by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

TCS introduced its Associate Deployment Policy in June 2025, requiring employees to be allocated for at least 225 business days in the preceding 12-month period. This effectively leaves a maximum of around 35 business days without allocation in a year.

The two policies therefore take different approaches to workforce deployment.

Wipro is giving Band 2 and below employees a longer formal period to find internal project opportunities, while TCS has placed greater emphasis on maintaining a minimum number of billed days.

The comparison does not mean that the two policies were introduced at the same time.

TCS’s policy dates back to June 2025, while Wipro’s revised 180-day policy takes effect from October 1, 2026.

What Does It Mean for Wipro Employees?

For eligible Wipro employees, the revised policy provides additional time to secure an internal assignment before the 180-day period expires.

It may also give the company more time to redeploy employees based on project demand and available skills.

Wipro President and CHRO Saurabh Govil said during the company’s earnings call that Wipro did not hire freshers during the June 2026 quarter.

He said hiring would be reassessed depending on the demand environment. Wipro had onboarded about 7,500 graduates in the previous year.

The new 180-day provision should also be viewed separately from Wipro’s Extended Bench Leave Programme (EBLP), which has been discussed in separate reports involving former employees.

Overall, Wipro’s revised policy changes the amount of time eligible employees can remain on the bench before further employment action may be taken.