This pay-out is a substantial jump from the previous quarter ended March 31 when India’s second largest IT services firm had paid an average 60% of the targeted bonus.
“This is the best we have seen in some time,” an Infosys employee told ET on the condition of anonymity.
The average percentage figure refers to the bonus paid to employees at band six (E6) and below, who form the bulk of the Bengaluru-headquartered company’s workforce.
The pay-out comes after Infosys led industry growth in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 reporting 7.1% year-on-year growth in net profit and a 3.6% expansion in revenue, as against subdued performance by its top-tier peers. The firm has also raised its revenue guidance for FY25 to 3-4% in constant currency terms, citing return of business demand and bullish market environment in the last two quarters.
“Q1 (April-June) quarter was marked by strong and broad-based growth, driven by our unique service offerings and your unwavering commitment. Your dedication has fortified our diverse and dynamic portfolio and our enhanced GenAI capabilities have deepened our client relationships,” Infosys said in an email to employees.
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Bonus pay-outs have differed based on individual performance and contributions for the quarter, as the heads of delivery units decide the percentages for individual employees based on the budget they are shared.“In line with our organisational goals on building high-performance work culture, we have continued to drive performance differential while closing bonus pay-outs as well,” said the mail that ET has seen.
For the quarter, ET has learnt, the variable pay ranged between 75% and 84.5% for employees in the E6 category, between 77% and 86% for those at E5 and between 80% and 88% for E4. The figures for the previous quarter (Q4 of FY24) were 54-60% for E6, 62-68% for E5 and 70-76% for E4.
Infosys did not respond to a request for comment.
At Infosys, the classification of E0–E2 employees range from freshers to technical leaders, while the E3–E6 band comprises those with mid-level positions ranging between project managers and vice presidents. E7 and above are senior-level employees.
The latest pay-out is said to be at the same level the company released for the June quarter of the last fiscal year, at least two employees confirmed.
In continuation with its new practice, this time too, the company has not disclosed unit-wise average performance pay-outs in individual mails to employees, probably to prevent any heartburn.
The Salil Parekh-led firm, which had frozen salary hikes in FY22 to conserve cash, started its annual appraisal cycle starting in October last year and released a salary revision letter for the last salary cycle in December 2023.
The company, however, has yet to hand them the salary revision letters for the appraisal cycle between September 2022 and October 2023.
For the latest cycle, Infosys has yet to release the salary revision letter that usually comes in June, with the revision kicking in retrospectively from April 1, another employee further explained.
In December, Infosys raised salaries for many of its employees. The hikes, which are typically effective April 1, were announced from November 1, 2023. The hikes, though, were not applicable to entry-level workers.