An employee union has filed a complaint with the labour ministry against Infosys over the IT major’s recent decision to introduce non-compete clauses in their contracts.
The complaint, by Pune-based Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), is based on multiple complaints from Infosys employees.
According to the letter sent to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Bhupender Yadav, the clauses ban employees from working for the same customers, who they had worked with in the company for the last 12 months, in rival firms for six months after they quit Infosys. They also prohibit them from being in the employ of the clients if they had worked with them in the 12 months before they quit Infosys.
The competitors named in the agreement include TCS, Accenture, IBM, Cognizant and Wipro.
In his letter, Harpreet Saluja, president of NITES, called the clauses “arbitrary, unethical and illegal”, and said they violates Section 27 of the Contract Act.
Infosys reported 27.7 per cent attrition rate for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. To tackle attrition, the firm hired 85,000 freshers in FY22, and will hire 50,000 in the current fiscal. IT companies expect the situation to continue for the coming quarters.
The non-compete clauses read thus, going by the complaint.
For the period of six months after leaving Infosys, employees will not
- Accept any offer of employment from any customer, (with whom I worked) in the twelve months immediately preceding my termination.
- Accept any offer of employment from a Named Competitor of Infosys, if the employment with such Named Competitor would involve me having to work with a Customer with whom I had worked in the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the termination of my employment with Infosys.
The letter said the clauses are likely to affect the employees’ means of procuring a livelihood for themselves and their families. “Hence the company should be stopped from enforcing them,” it said.