HCL Tech Says No To Moonlighting, Records High Intake of Freshers

Weighing in on the issue of moonlighting, multinational firm HCL Technologies on Wednesday declared that it does not approve of dual employment. Moonlighting refers to an employee taking up side gigs in addition to their primary job. 

HCL chief people officer Ramachandran Sundararajan, during the Q2 earnings briefing, said, “We do not approve any dual employment while working for HCL Tech. Everybody who signs up to work for HCL Tech, signs an employment contract, which requires exclusivity. The requirements around confidentiality and non-compete, we expect our employees to honour those commitments and provisions.”

He added that moonlighting has not come up as a big problem within the company. “It is not a big problem for us. We have had one or two stray instances,” he said. 

The company said, whether it is an increase in the pay cycle or managing variable pay even in tough times, the company has stuck to its policy and stayed on course. No changes were made in the company’s approach to variable pay. However, a few changes were made in the company's annual compensation review with regards to the top leadership, where compensation had been deferred by a quarter. The remaining 98% of staff have seen compensation increase in the usual cycle. 

HCL Tech reported an overall fresher intake of 10,339 during the quarter – the highest in the company so far. The net employee addition was at 8,359 during the quarter, taking a total headcount to 219,325, with a stable attrition rate of 23.8%. “I think the operating model has changed forever. People are not always going to come to the office and work. The world has changed. It is going to be a hybrid operating model,” says C Vijaykumar, CEO, HCLTech.