TCS Appraisal Row: Tata Consultancy Services Techies Slam Appraisal Season Over Lower Take-Home Pay
Tata Consultancy Services employees have taken to social media claiming their take-home salaries declined despite receiving annual increment letters during the company’s appraisal cycle. Viral posts and employee reactions have triggered debate over performance ratings, variable pay structures and compensation practices, with some former workers alleging the issue has existed for years.
Appraisal season at Tata Consultancy Services has triggered widespread discussion online after several employees claimed their take-home salaries decreased despite receiving annual increment letters.
The issue gained traction on social media platforms, where tech workers alleged that salary revisions introduced during the company’s appraisal cycle resulted in lower in-hand pay for some employees instead of expected increases. TCS Salary Hike: Average 5% Increment, Employees Flag ‘Reduced CTC’ After Appraisals.
One viral post read: “TCS yearly increments are out and unfortunately many people got salary Decreased 🤣 The laugh is because you wont even know the hikes their management gets and it will be more than last year only. Plus the shareholders looking pretty happy too. Just they dont care about employees"
The claims quickly sparked reactions from current and former IT professionals, with many debating how compensation structures work in large technology firms. TCS Managers Told To Categorise 5% of Staff in D Band for ‘Lowest Performance’: Report.
Social Media Debate Over Appraisal Process
As the discussion spread online, social media users shared sharply divided views on TCS’s appraisal and salary structure. Some employees criticised management practices and questioned compensation policies.
One user wrote: “Management’s hike math: your take-home shrinks, their bonuses balloon." Another user commented: “It’s still better than losing jobs tbh." Others defended the company’s appraisal system, arguing that salary growth depends heavily on employee performance and contribution levels.
One user asked: “Yash , Can you spit some facts. I heard that in IT only 2 to 3 employees in a team are strong in their skills, remaining will depend on them. In such a scenario do you really think they need a hike"
Another user explained: “I left it in 2006. But at that time structure was Total compensation= fixed + variable. Ex. 100=60+40. It could happen that 60 becomes 70 but 40 becomes 20 which depends on company and your performance. This is the way you reward your high performing team. Absolutely correct way."
Employees Discuss Ratings and Variable Pay
Several users identifying themselves as former employees said the outcome of appraisals often depends on internal performance ratings and variable compensation structures. One industry veteran wrote: “Does that mean many people got poor rating? In our time, employees with a rating of 4 used to get their base salary reduced. Rating of 5 would lead to PIP or termination. Rating of 3 (the max of the distribution) would marginally increase your basic."
The comments led to broader discussions around how large IT companies structure compensation packages, especially the balance between fixed salary and variable components linked to performance.
Former Employee Claims Practice Is ‘Nothing New’
One former TCS employee claimed that the issue has existed for years and accused the company of redistributing salary increments internally rather than increasing overall compensation spending.
The person wrote on X: “This has been happening for decades. I have been voicing this out from the day I was working in TCS way back in 2008. TCS cleverly planned the salary increments in such a way that none of the pay hikes comes from the balance sheet. One year, one employee gets it once he/she gets a high rating. Next year, if he/she does not get that rating equally or better than previous years, TCS reduces their salary. That reduced salary goes to another employee and so on and so forth. By this way, TCS efficiently manages the pay hikes between employees and nowhere does the salary hikes comes from the balance sheets."
'Nothing New'
The former employee further alleged that internal feedback processes did not lead to structural changes. “Way back in 2010, when I voiced it in the town hall, they employed an agency to do the survey and even in that I voiced out my opinion. Result – just as any other survey they do, it went into the bureaucratic black hole (I’ll write about this in a separate thread soon – this TCS bureaucracy will put our babu’s to shame). To sum it up, there is nothing new to be astonished at. It’s TCS’s way of life. 😇😇😇"
The controversy has also highlighted wider concerns within India’s IT sector, where employees have increasingly discussed issues related to compensation growth, variable pay, job security and performance-linked appraisal systems.
Large IT firms often structure salaries with fixed and variable components, meaning changes in performance ratings, incentives or bonus structures can affect overall take-home pay even when official salary revisions are announced. TCS has not publicly responded to the viral claims circulating on social media.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 19, 2026 04:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).