Wipro has implemented a unique bench management policy that allows junior and mid-level employees up to 180 calendar days to find new billable assignments, as reported by Times of India. The revised policy, effective October 1, 2026, applies to employees in Band 2 and below and begins when they are released from a billable project or return to India without securing another role. Employees who fail to obtain allocation within 180 days can be separated under their employment contracts, while Band 3 and above employees continue with the standard 45-day bench period, and employees with disabilities are eligible for 75 days.
Wipro's extended bench policy sets it apart from major IT peers who are implementing stricter deployment timelines. TCS now requires associates to be billed for 225 days annually, effectively limiting bench time to about 35 business days, while Cognizant reduced its bench period from 60 days to 35 days several years ago. Infosys allows employees on the bench to undergo training and upskilling before deployment, and HCLTech and Tech Mahindra have been focusing on tighter utilisation and demand-linked workforce deployment. The comparison shows that 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 through its Associate Deployment Policy introduced in June 2025.
The policy comes amid cautious hiring across India's technology sector, with Wipro not hiring freshers during the June 2026 quarter according to president and CHRO Saurabh Govil. The company onboarded about 7,500 graduates last year, taking its workforce to around 2.4 lakh employees. Wipro ended the June quarter with 243,044 employees and reported IT-services utilisation at 83.6% excluding trainees. The longer deployment window allows Wipro to use existing workforce more efficiently and potentially train employees for emerging requirements, reducing the need for new recruitment when demand improves. The new 180-day provision should also give the company more time to redeploy employees based on project demand and available skills.
The six-month bench window provides employees with more time to find suitable projects and undergo necessary training. Wipro has linked the bench process more closely to its Capability Development Plan (CDP), allowing employees who face three consecutive interview rejections to enter the programme. However, the extended period does not guarantee continued employment, and employees in Band 2 and below who remain without billable allocation for 180 days can be separated under their contracts. The revised policy also brings the Capability Development Plan into the compliance and consequence-management process, with a single failed interview not automatically triggering CDP initiation. The policy creates a differentiated approach based on employee band rather than applying uniform bench limits across the workforce.
