There is a version of Infosys that exists in the hiring brochure - the global campuses, the six core values, the structured career path, the Mysore training experience - and there is a version of Infosys that exists in the actual workday. For most employees, the two versions overlap more than the cynics suggest and diverge more than the optimists admit. The experience of working at Infosys depends enormously on which project you land on, who your manager is, what the client demands, and where in Infosys’s sprawling organisational structure you happen to be positioned.

Infosys Work Culture, Onsite, and Exit Guide

This guide is written for people who need the practical, honest account - not the corporate version and not the bitterly one-sided exit review. If you are about to join Infosys, it tells you what to genuinely expect. If you are mid-tenure and trying to understand how onsite selection works or what being on the bench actually entails, it provides the specific framework. If you are planning to leave, it walks through every step of the resignation and exit process with the level of detail that prevents unpleasant surprises. None of this is speculative; it is the account of how Infosys’s systems actually function, built from the patterns of thousands of employee experiences.

Table of Contents

  1. The Day-to-Day Work Culture at Infosys
  2. Project Types and Team Structures
  3. The Manager-Employee Relationship
  4. Onsite Deputations: How the System Actually Works
  5. The Bench: Reality, Expectations, and Survival
  6. The Service Agreement and Bond Clause
  7. Moonlighting Policy at Infosys
  8. Internal Transfer Mechanisms
  9. The Complete Resignation Process
  10. Post-Exit: Documents, PF, and Gratuity
  11. Background Verification After Exit
  12. Frequently Asked Questions

The Day-to-Day Work Culture at Infosys

Work culture at Infosys is not a monolithic experience. It varies by project, by location, by the client, and by the manager in ways that make generalisations only partially accurate. But there are consistent cultural patterns that show up across enough accounts to describe with confidence.

The formal communication culture. Infosys places explicit emphasis on professional communication in a way that few Indian IT companies match. The Mysore training instils this early - English is the working language of the organisation, emails are expected to be structured and professional, and verbal communication in meetings is expected to be clear and purposeful. This is not merely cosmetic. Infosys’s delivery model depends on client-facing communication at every level of the organisation, and the communication standard that Infosys maintains is one of the genuine differentiators from less communication-focused peers.

For employees who come from academic environments where technical skill was the dominant currency and communication was an afterthought, this communication emphasis can be an adjustment. For employees who value it, it becomes one of the more career-useful aspects of Infosys employment - the professional communication habits developed here are applicable and valuable in every subsequent role.

The hierarchy and its practical effects. Infosys maintains a relatively formal hierarchy. The designation bands - Systems Engineer, Senior Systems Engineer, Technology Analyst, and so on - are not just administrative labels; they shape who speaks in meetings, who is expected to challenge assumptions, and how much autonomy is extended. Junior employees on most accounts do not typically push back on senior decisions in open meetings, which is a cultural norm that frustrates candidates who come from more flat-hierarchy environments.

The practical effect of this hierarchy is that access to interesting, complex work is partly determined by designation. An SE on most accounts will be given defined, bounded tasks; the architectural decisions happen at TL and above. This is not unique to Infosys, but the hierarchy is more formally enforced here than at some peers, particularly HCLTech or Cognizant.

The values framework in practice. Infosys’s six core values (client value, leadership by example, integrity and transparency, fairness, excellence, and pursuit of excellence) are communicated clearly during the Mysore onboarding and are referenced regularly in leadership communications and performance discussions. In practice, the values that most consistently shape daily behaviour are integrity and transparency (the expectation of honest communication about project status, without hiding problems) and client value (the expectation that client satisfaction drives daily delivery decisions).

Employees who take the values framework seriously - who genuinely try to apply them to daily decisions rather than treating them as poster content - tend to find the culture more coherent and navigable than those who dismiss them as corporate language. The values create a shared vocabulary for resolving ambiguous situations that is actually useful in client-facing delivery contexts.

Work hours: The project determines the rhythm. There is no single Infosys work hour norm. On stable maintenance accounts with predictable support workloads, nine-to-six working is genuinely standard, and overtime is the exception rather than the rule. On agile development accounts with tight sprint commitments, eleven to twelve hour days are common during delivery crunch periods. On accounts with US clients and offshore-onsite coordination requirements, early morning or late evening video calls overlap with the standard India working day.

The variance is large enough that asking specifically about the work hour patterns on the target project during an interview is a worthwhile investment. The answer will be more informative than any general statement about Infosys’s work culture.

The WFH and hybrid reality. Infosys has moved through multiple phases on remote work, broadly following industry trends. The current reality is a hybrid arrangement where some degree of office presence is expected, with the specific number of mandatory in-office days varying by location, business unit, and project. Client-facing roles typically have higher in-office requirements than purely offshore delivery roles. The formal policy and the practical implementation often differ - what is mandatory on paper may be less consistently enforced in practice, and what appears optional may be socially expected by specific managers.

Employees who value genuine remote work flexibility should clarify the specific expectations for their project and manager during the hiring process, rather than relying on company-level hybrid policy statements.

The experience by city and campus. Infosys’s major India delivery centres are in Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Mysore, with smaller development centres in Mumbai, Kolkata, and other locations. The work experience varies somewhat by city and campus, driven by the types of accounts concentrated in each location and the local talent market dynamics.

Bengaluru is Infosys’s largest delivery location and has the widest variety of accounts and project types. The talent density in Bengaluru also means more internal networking opportunities and faster knowledge exchange. The commute and cost of living challenge in Bengaluru is real - the traffic is among India’s worst, and accommodation costs near the major Infosys campuses are high. Pune is often described by Infosys employees as offering better quality of life than Bengaluru at comparable salary levels, with manageable commutes and lower accommodation costs. Hyderabad is similar in this regard.

Mysore, while being the training location rather than a primary delivery centre, has some delivery operations and is described uniformly as the most pleasant campus environment from a day-to-day quality-of-life perspective - the campus facilities, the lower city density, and the cooler climate relative to other South Indian cities create a distinctively comfortable working environment.

The professional development culture. Infosys’s investment in employee learning is genuine and more visible than at most peers. The Springboard platform, the Infosys Lex mobile learning app, certification support, and the internal communities of practice create multiple channels for skill development that employees who use them consistently describe as a genuine career accelerator. The cultural norm is that learning is an individual responsibility, and the infrastructure makes that responsibility executable without significant financial investment by the employee.

Employees who participate actively in the learning culture - completing certifications, sharing knowledge through internal community sessions, contributing to the Infosys knowledge repository - build visibility and credibility that supports career progression in ways that purely project-focused delivery does not. The learning culture is one of Infosys’s genuine strengths, and it is most valuable to employees who engage with it actively rather than treating it as background noise.

The Onsite Living Experience: What to Expect Beyond the Work

The practical dimensions of living at an onsite location - finding accommodation, managing finances, navigating a new country, and maintaining personal wellbeing - are topics that official deployment processes do not cover comprehensively but that every employee wishes they had known before landing.

The initial landing period. The first two to four weeks onsite are the highest-effort adjustment period. Everything is unfamiliar simultaneously: the work environment, the client culture, the city geography, the transportation system, the grocery stores, the bank account setup, and the time zone adjustment. Infosys typically provides temporary accommodation for the first week through a corporate housing arrangement, after which the employee must find their own accommodation.

Most experienced Infosys onsite employees recommend using the first week’s temporary accommodation period to proactively search for medium-term housing (apartments, shared housing) rather than trying to manage the search after the temporary arrangement expires. The search is faster when done in person, and having a clear sense of the commute from different residential areas to the client site is impossible to assess remotely.

Building the onsite community. There are almost always other Infosys employees (and often employees from Indian IT services companies generally) deployed in the same client city. The informal network of Indian IT services professionals in major client cities is well-established and is one of the most valuable resources for a new onsite arrival. This community provides practical knowledge (which housing areas are suitable, which grocery stores carry familiar ingredients, which Indian restaurants are good) and emotional support during the adjustment period.

LinkedIn and Infosys’s internal social platforms can help identify Infosys colleagues at the same client location before arrival. Reaching out before landing to introduce yourself and ask for practical arrival advice is almost always welcomed.

Financial management during onsite. The combination of continuing Indian savings accumulation and onsite per diem requires active financial management. Setting up systematic transfers from the per diem account to a savings or investment account (in either India or the host country, depending on individual financial planning) from the first month prevents the common pattern of lifestyle inflation that erodes the financial benefit of the onsite posting.

Tax return obligations in both India and the host country must be managed - typically the Indian resident tax return is filed as usual (with the onsite income declared appropriately), and the host country may have specific filing requirements for non-resident workers that vary by country and by the duration of the posting. Engaging a tax professional with experience in the specific country combination early in the onsite posting prevents end-of-year complications.

Maintaining wellbeing during onsite. Extended onsite postings, particularly in the first year, can be psychologically challenging. The distance from family and friends, the cultural adjustment, and the professional pressure of being highly visible in the client environment combine to create a stress level that is higher than the India-based delivery environment for many employees. Regular communication with family (supported by the cost-effectiveness of international calling apps), maintaining some physical activity routine, and building at least a small social community in the host city are the practices that most successfully sustain wellbeing through a multi-year onsite posting.

For new joiners and mid-tenure employees alike, the ability to navigate Infosys’s internal systems and organisational landscape effectively significantly improves both daily work quality and long-term career outcomes.

Key internal platforms. InfyMe is the primary employee portal, where payroll, leave management, performance management, internal job postings, and exit formalities all reside. Infosys Springboard is the learning platform. Infosys Lex is the mobile learning app. The Resource Management system (the internal staffing tool) is where bench employees update their profiles and the RMG team manages allocation. Understanding which platform handles which activity prevents the lost time of searching for basic functions across an unfamiliar set of systems.

The Infosys email and collaboration culture. Professional email communication at Infosys is formal by Indian IT industry standards. Cc policies (who is copied on what type of communication), the expectation of acknowledgment emails, and the structure of status update communications are implicit professional norms that junior employees pick up by observation. An early investment in understanding the communication norms of the specific account and manager makes the daily email environment significantly less uncertain.

The internal knowledge ecosystem. Infosys maintains extensive internal knowledge repositories - the Infosys Knowledge Konnect (the internal wiki and document management system), practice-level knowledge portals, and the communities of practice Yammer or Teams groups. These resources are genuinely useful for employees working on client problems that Infosys has solved before elsewhere in the organisation. The challenge is discoverability - the knowledge exists, but finding the right article, case study, or subject matter expert requires knowing where to look. Building relationships with colleagues in the relevant practice community is often more efficient than searching the repository directly.

The support structure for new joiners. Infosys assigns a buddy and a mentor to new joiners during the project onboarding period (post-Mysore). The buddy is typically a peer-level colleague who helps with day-to-day orientation. The mentor is typically a senior employee who provides career guidance. The quality of these relationships varies enormously based on the individuals involved and the account culture. New joiners who proactively engage with their buddy and mentor - asking specific, thoughtful questions rather than generic ones - extract more value from these relationships than those who treat them as formalities.

Infosys invests in employee recognition through formal programmes (the Infosys Award for Excellence, team-level STAR awards, client commendation recognition) and through informal team-level celebrations of delivery milestones. Recognition at the team level is visible on the Infosys intranet and is noted in the performance record. For employees who are not instinctively visible in their contributions, actively seeking recognition for specific outcomes - and ensuring their manager is aware of client feedback that commends their work - is a career management discipline, not self-promotion.

Project Types and Team Structures

The project you are allocated to after training is the most influential determinant of your early career experience at Infosys. Understanding the main project types and their structural implications helps candidates evaluate allocation outcomes and manage expectations.

Application Development projects. The largest category of Infosys delivery is application development for enterprise clients. These projects build or enhance software applications - ERP implementations, custom business applications, digital portals, mobile applications. The team structure is typically agile, with a Product Owner (client side or Infosys-provided), a Scrum Master, and development teams of four to eight engineers organised into squads. The SE or SSE on an app development project is a squad member responsible for implementing user stories within a sprint cycle.

The technical depth available on app development projects varies by the application’s complexity. A greenfield cloud-native application in a modern tech stack is far more technically stimulating than a phase-two enhancement of a decade-old Java monolith. Both are “application development” - only the context distinguishes them.

Application Maintenance and Support projects. Maintenance accounts involve keeping existing systems running, bug-fixing reported issues, making minor enhancements within defined change control processes, and providing Level 2 or Level 3 technical support to end users. These projects have more predictable work rhythms than development projects, but the technical novelty is lower. For employees who value technical learning and project variety, extended maintenance assignments are frustrating. For employees who value predictable hours and stable project context, maintenance accounts are attractive.

The majority of Infosys’s revenue comes from maintenance and support rather than net-new development. This means a significant proportion of Infosys employees are on maintenance accounts at any given time, and it is important to proactively communicate a preference for development work if that is the career priority.

Digital Transformation projects. Digital transformation projects are the most publicly prominent category in Infosys’s marketing but also the most varied in terms of what the work actually involves. A “digital transformation” engagement might mean cloud migration (moving an on-premise system to AWS or Azure), process automation (implementing RPA or workflow tools), data modernisation (migrating from a legacy data warehouse to a cloud data platform), or customer experience reimagination (redesigning a digital channel). Each of these has very different technical content, team structures, and learning opportunities.

These projects are the ones most frequently referenced in Infosys’s recruiting communications, and they are genuinely stimulating when the scope is ambitious and the client is engaged. They are also the most subject to scope creep, requirement changes, and client-side political dynamics that can make the delivery environment chaotic.

Infrastructure and Operations projects. Infrastructure projects at Infosys involve managing client IT infrastructure - servers, networks, storage, end-user computing, and increasingly cloud operations. These projects operate with higher SLA pressure than software development projects because downtime has immediate business consequences. The team structures include service desk engineers, platform engineers, and site reliability engineers, with a 24/7 shift structure on many accounts.

For employees interested in infrastructure, DevOps, and platform engineering careers, Infosys’s ITO (IT outsourcing) accounts provide genuine learning opportunities in cloud operations, monitoring and observability, incident management, and automation. The shift work requirement is a significant lifestyle factor that not all employees are willing to accept.

The team size experience. Infosys project teams range from very small (four to six people on a focused project) to very large (hundreds of engineers across multiple Infosys locations and client sites on programme-scale engagements). The team size significantly shapes the daily experience. On small teams, every team member’s contribution is visible, and the interpersonal dynamics are intensely influential. On large programmes, the individual SE or SSE can feel anonymous, and the organisational navigation required to understand how one’s work contributes to the overall programme can be challenging.

The Manager-Employee Relationship

The relationship between an Infosys employee and their direct manager is the single most consequential variable in the daily work experience, the performance rating outcome, and the promotion timeline. Understanding the typical dynamics and how to navigate them is among the most practical things to know before joining.

The formal reporting structure. Every Infosys employee has a primary manager - the person who conducts the performance review, assigns goals, provides feedback, and advocates (or not) in the calibration session. On delivery projects, there is also a technical hierarchy (team lead, technical lead, project manager) that may or may not map directly to the HR reporting structure. An employee might functionally report to a technical lead for day-to-day work while HR-reporting to a delivery manager who manages a larger team. This split creates situations where the person most familiar with the employee’s technical contribution is different from the person who formally inputs the performance rating.

Understanding which person actually influences the performance rating - and making sure that person has accurate visibility into the work - is a practical career management imperative that many employees at Infosys overlook in the early years.

Feedback dynamics. Infosys’s culture expects managers to provide developmental feedback, but the quality of feedback varies enormously. Some managers are specific, consistent, and genuinely invested in their reports’ growth. Others provide feedback once a year during the appraisal cycle and otherwise offer minimal coaching. Employees who receive inadequate managerial feedback should proactively solicit it: asking the manager directly, before the appraisal cycle, “What specific things would I need to demonstrate over the next six months to be considered for a higher performance rating?” converts an abstract relationship into a concrete development contract.

The manager as project allocation gatekeeper. The manager’s role extends beyond performance evaluation to project allocation. When an employee is available for reallocation (either because a project ended or because the employee is seeking a move), the manager is often the primary point of contact for the internal staffing team. A manager who actively advocates for the employee - communicating the employee’s skills and availability to the allocation team, surfacing them for relevant openings - can significantly reduce bench duration and improve allocation quality. A manager who is passive or who does not know the employee’s capabilities well does neither.

Investing in the manager relationship throughout the project tenure - keeping the manager informed of accomplishments, asking for guidance, and building a mutual respect - pays dividends specifically at the point of allocation.

When the manager relationship breaks down. Conflicted relationships with managers happen. The formal escalation path at Infosys runs through the HR Business Partner assigned to the business unit. The HR BP is the designated resource for employees who are experiencing manager-related issues that are affecting their work environment or their performance record. Using this channel should be deliberate and factual: specific instances with documented evidence are more actionable than general complaints about management style.

Infosys also has a formal grievance mechanism and an ethics hotline for situations involving conduct concerns. These exist and are used, though the threshold for formal action is typically higher than informal friction in a manager relationship.

Onsite Deputations: How the System Actually Works

Onsite deployment - being sent to work at or near a client site in another country - is one of the most anticipated and financially significant events in an Infosys career. Understanding how the selection actually works, what the experience involves, and what happens after returning is essential for any employee who wants to plan their onsite strategy deliberately.

Selection Criteria for Onsite

The selection of employees for onsite deputation is not a merit-based queue where the best performers wait and eventually get their turn. It is a project-demand-driven allocation where the specific needs of the client engagement determine who is sent.

Skill alignment. The primary selection criterion is whether the employee has the skills the onsite role requires. If the client needs a Java developer with Spring Boot experience and knowledge of the client’s banking domain, the allocation team looks for Infosys employees with that specific profile. Having documented skills (through certifications, project history, and technology tags in the internal system) that match high-demand onsite requirements is the most reliable way to improve onsite probability.

Client preference. Client counterparts who have worked with a specific Infosys employee remotely and found the experience positive will sometimes request that person for an onsite role. This is not formally guaranteed, but client-stated preferences carry significant weight. Building a positive working relationship with client counterparts through offshore delivery - responsive communication, quality deliverables, proactive problem-solving - can create the client preference signal that leads to an onsite opportunity.

Communication proficiency. Onsite roles involve direct, sustained, face-to-face communication with client stakeholders. Employees who demonstrate strong spoken English, active listening, and the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical client counterparts are more confidently deployed onsite than those whose communication creates friction. This is why Infosys’s Mysore training invests heavily in communication skills - it is creating the communication foundation that onsite deployment requires.

Visa eligibility. Visa eligibility is a practical filter that often goes unmentioned in formal discussions. An employee who has had a previous visa rejection, who has complications in their travel document history, or who does not have a passport (or has a passport with very limited validity) is practically constrained in onsite eligibility regardless of technical skill. Obtaining and maintaining a valid passport, and understanding the visa eligibility implications of any prior international travel history, is a background preparation step that employees with onsite aspirations should address proactively.

Tenure and trust level. While not formally stated as a criterion, employees with at least two to three years of project experience are more confidently deployed onsite than those with very short tenures. The onsite role is both a client relationship asset and an organisational trust signal, and the informal bar for onsite consideration is higher for very junior employees without a project track record.

Visa Process and Support

The visa process for onsite deputation is managed through Infosys’s internal immigration team, which handles visa applications, supporting documents, and employer letters.

The B1 (business) visa for US. For US onsite, the most common visa for Infosys employees is the B1 business visitor visa, used for shorter-term onsite engagements (typically under six months). For longer-term onsite or for employees who will be directly delivering work at the client site (rather than attending meetings), the H1B (specialty occupation worker) visa is required. H1B applications are subject to the annual lottery system in the US, which creates uncertainty and delay.

Infosys has a legal and immigration team that manages the visa application process once an employee is identified for onsite deployment. The employee’s primary obligation is to provide accurate, complete documentation (educational certificates, employment history, identity documents, passport) to support the application. Inaccuracies in these documents - even inadvertent ones - can result in visa rejection and can complicate future visa applications.

For UK and European onsite. The UK requires a separate visa for working visits (distinct from the business visitor visa), with the appropriate category depending on the duration and nature of the work. European visas depend on the specific country of deployment. Infosys’s immigration team has experience with the major onsite geographies and provides guidance on the applicable visa category and documentation requirements for each.

Waiting period during visa processing. Visa processing timelines vary significantly by country, by the specific visa category, and by the applicant’s travel history. US B1 processing can range from a few weeks to several months depending on consulate scheduling availability. Employees who are identified for onsite but are waiting for visa approval are typically maintained on their current project or moved to relevant internal activities while the visa is processed.

Compensation During Onsite

The compensation structure during onsite deployment is different from India-based employment and is one of the most practically important aspects of the onsite experience.

The split pay structure. When an Infosys employee is deployed onsite, they receive their regular Indian base salary (fixed monthly pay) as usual, credited in Indian rupees to their Indian bank account. In addition, they receive a per diem allowance in the local currency of the country where they are deployed. This per diem is intended to cover accommodation, daily meals, local transportation, and other living expenses.

The per diem amount is calibrated to allow comfortable living in the deployment country at rates that Infosys considers reasonable for the location. For US deployments, the per diem is structured around the US federal government’s GSA per diem rates (which vary by city) adjusted for Infosys’s own scale. For UK and European deployments, similar country-specific rates apply.

What the per diem covers in practice. Most employees deployed onsite manage their accommodation costs entirely from the per diem, with Infosys sometimes arranging initial temporary accommodation for the first week or two. After that, employees typically arrange their own accommodation (apartment sharing with other Infosys employees is common and cost-effective in expensive cities like San Francisco, New York, or London). Daily meals are also managed from the per diem.

The net savings potential from an onsite posting is significant because the Indian base salary continues to accumulate in the Indian account while all living expenses are covered by the per diem in the host country. Employees who manage their onsite living costs frugally (shared accommodation, home cooking, public transportation over cabs) can save a substantial portion of the per diem, creating a financial step-change that typically represents more wealth accumulation than several years of India-based employment.

Tax implications of onsite compensation. The tax treatment of onsite compensation is complex and has both Indian and host-country dimensions. The Indian base salary continues to be taxed in India under Indian income tax laws. The per diem allowance has specific tax treatment depending on whether it is above or below prescribed exemption limits. The host country may have withholding tax obligations on certain types of work performed within its jurisdiction, and Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) between India and the host country determine how the same income is treated in both jurisdictions.

Infosys provides payroll and tax support for onsite employees, but the complexity means that employees should proactively engage with Infosys’s tax team and, for longer-term deployments, consider consulting a tax professional in both India and the host country.

Client Expectations Onsite

Working at a client site carries different expectations from offshore delivery. Employees who are prepared for these differences adjust more quickly and perform more effectively.

The visibility expectation. At a client site, you are the face of Infosys. Your punctuality, your professional presentation, your responsiveness in meetings, and your conduct in the client’s office environment are all visible to client stakeholders in ways that offshore delivery does not produce. The informal impressions formed in these daily interactions shape client confidence in the entire Infosys engagement, not just in your individual contribution.

Arriving on time, being dressed appropriately for the client’s workplace culture (which may be more or less formal than Infosys’s Mysore standard), participating actively in meetings rather than being a passive observer, and responding to client communications promptly are all baseline professional expectations that are more directly observed onsite.

Communication style adaptation. Different client cultures have different communication norms. US clients typically prefer direct, concise communication with upfront conclusion-first structure. UK clients often prefer a slightly more formal register with appropriate qualification of uncertainty. European clients may have specific language considerations in country. Understanding the client’s communication preferences and adapting accordingly produces better working relationships than imposing the communication style that felt comfortable in Mysore training.

Proactive problem escalation. One of the most consistent pieces of guidance from Infosys employees returning from successful onsite stints is this: clients value transparency about problems far more than they value the pretence of no problems. When something is going wrong - a technical blocker, a timeline risk, a requirement ambiguity - the client expectation onsite is that they are informed promptly so they can help resolve it. The offshore instinct of managing a problem internally until it is fixed before telling the client is often a poorer approach in the direct-communication environment of onsite delivery.

Returning from Onsite

The return from an onsite deputation involves both logistical and career management considerations.

Reintegration to India-based delivery. The return from an extended onsite period (a year or more) requires reintegration to the India-based project context, which operates differently from the client-facing onsite environment. Some employees find this transition disorienting - the pace, the visibility, and the client proximity that made the onsite experience engaging are absent in the offshore model. Managing this transition with appropriate expectations prevents the post-onsite frustration that some employees experience.

Leveraging onsite experience for career advancement. The onsite experience is one of the most powerful inputs to the next promotion case. The client relationships built, the delivery outcomes achieved, and the business domain expertise developed onsite are all evidence dimensions that strengthen the promotion argument. Employees returning from onsite should document their specific contributions, client feedback, and business impact while the experience is fresh, and should communicate this record to their manager and HR business partner as part of the post-onsite reintegration conversation.

Multiple onsite cycles. Employees who perform well onsite are frequently considered for subsequent onsite deployments on the same or different accounts. Building an onsite track record creates a positive cycle where the evidence of successful onsite performance reduces the selection uncertainty for future deployments. Long-tenured Infosys employees in senior roles frequently have multiple onsite deployments across different countries and clients in their career history.

The Bench: Reality, Expectations, and Survival

The bench - the period between project assignments during which an employee draws salary without active project billing - is one of the most misunderstood and anxiety-producing aspects of IT services employment. Understanding the bench accurately reduces the anxiety and improves the outcome.

How Long the Bench Lasts

The bench duration at Infosys varies by the employee’s skill profile, the current project demand in their practice area, the time of year (Infosys’s hiring cycle creates periodic peaks and troughs in internal talent demand), and the employee’s own proactivity in the allocation process. The typical bench duration for employees with common, well-documented skills in a normally functioning business period is one to three months. Employees with highly specialised skills that happen to have lower current demand, or employees who are passive in the allocation process, may find the bench extending to four to six months.

A bench duration beyond six months is uncommon for employees in good standing with adequate documentation of their skills and availability, and it typically triggers formal attention from the talent management team. This attention may be supportive (increasing allocation efforts, suggesting skill development to improve employability) or may involve a formal conversation about the employee’s future at Infosys if the bench is extending due to lack of fit with available demand.

What Is Expected on the Bench

Being on the bench does not mean being on vacation. Infosys has defined expectations for bench employees that are communicated through the talent management team.

Availability and responsiveness. Bench employees are expected to be available during normal working hours, to respond promptly to communications from the staffing team, and to indicate genuine availability for project deployment. An employee who is on the bench but is unresponsive to deployment inquiries because they are effectively treating the bench as leave time creates friction with the talent management team and reduces the goodwill that supports active staffing advocacy.

Skill development. Infosys’s Springboard learning platform provides access to courses and certifications for all employees, including those on the bench. Bench employees are expected to invest a portion of their bench time in skill development, particularly in areas that improve their alignment with current project demand. Completing relevant courses on Springboard and, where possible, obtaining certifications during the bench period, serves two purposes: it genuinely improves the employee’s deployment prospects by strengthening their skill profile, and it demonstrates engagement to the talent management team.

Internal project and training contributions. Some bench employees are assigned to internal projects - supporting Infosys’s own digital initiatives, contributing to knowledge repositories, participating in pre-sales support activities, or assisting in training delivery. These internal assignments are not billable to external clients, but they provide productive engagement and maintain the employment relationship’s mutual obligations during the bench period.

Check-ins with the talent management team. The internal staffing team (sometimes called the Resource Management Group or RMG) is the primary point of contact for bench employees. Regular, proactive check-ins with the RMG - updating the skill profile in the internal system, confirming availability and flexibility on location and technology, and reviewing open positions - accelerate the deployment process. Employees who treat the RMG relationship as actively as a job search (preparing their internal profile, communicating flexibility, following up on potential matches) get staffed faster.

How to Get Staffed Faster

The bench is not a passive waiting room. Active management of the allocation process significantly reduces bench duration.

Keep the internal skill profile current and specific. The internal staffing system uses skill tags to match employees to open requirements. A skill profile that is accurate and specific (listing the actual versions, frameworks, and platforms worked on, not just generic technology names) produces more relevant matches than a vague or outdated profile. Review and update the internal skill profile at the beginning of the bench period and again after completing any new certifications or training.

Expand the geographic flexibility statement. Employees who are willing to be deployed in any Infosys location (rather than only in their home city) expand the pool of available opportunities by orders of magnitude. Even if relocating is genuinely not possible, indicating maximum flexibility within realistic constraints - “willing to consider Bangalore, Pune, or Hyderabad” rather than only “home city” - broadens the match pool meaningfully.

Communicate technology flexibility. If the primary technology stack is in low demand during the bench period, being willing to work on adjacent technologies (a Java developer who can work on .NET, or a cloud architect who can contribute to DevOps work in a slightly different stack) increases match probability. This requires honest communication about the actual level of adjacent skill, not overstatement that creates a mismatch on the project.

Directly apply for IJP roles. The internal job posting system lists open positions across Infosys for which bench employees can apply directly. Bench employees who apply for specific IJP roles rather than waiting for the RMG to match them are more active in the process and may accelerate the allocation timeline. The IJP eligibility requirement of one year in the previous project is waived when the employee is on the bench.

Leverage manager advocacy. Even when on the bench, the previous manager is a relationship asset. A previous manager who is connected to account leaders with open requirements can make an informal introduction that converts to a deployment opportunity faster than the formal RMG process. Maintaining the relationship with the previous manager after the project ends - rather than treating it as closed once the project completes - is worth the small effort it requires.

When the Bench Becomes a Risk

For most employees in good standing with relevant skills, the bench is a temporary and manageable situation. However, certain conditions create elevated risk during an extended bench.

Performance management connection. An extended bench period, particularly if it follows a below-average performance rating, can trigger formal talent management review. The review evaluates whether the employee’s skill profile is aligned with Infosys’s current demand, whether the employee has engaged adequately with bench activities, and whether there is a realistic path to productive deployment. The outcome of this review can range from continued staffing support to a formal Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) if the combined assessment of performance and employability is unfavourable.

Business cycle context. During periods of broader business slowdown (reduced client spend on IT, project ramp-downs across multiple accounts), the bench expands across the organisation and individual bench duration extends beyond the typical range. These periods are visible in Infosys’s quarterly business communications and create bench conditions that are less within individual control. Employees on extended benches during business downturns should focus on the controllable factors (skill development, profile maintenance, flexibility communication) rather than treating the bench extension as a personal failing.

The Service Agreement and Bond Clause

What the Bond Says and Means

The Infosys service agreement for fresher hires commits the employee to remain employed with Infosys for a minimum period after completing the Mysore training programme. The bond amount and the bond period are specified in the offer letter. The minimum service commitment period has typically been one year from the date of training completion (not from the date of joining or from the date the offer was accepted).

Reading the bond clause carefully. The service agreement is a legally framed document, and the language should be read precisely. Key elements to note: the specific trigger event that starts the bond period (completion of training, not date of joining), the specific conditions that invoke the bond obligation (resignation or termination at the employee’s initiative during the bond period), the exact amount stated as recoverable, and the process by which the amount would be claimed (demand letter, legal action). Any ambiguity in these elements should be clarified with HR before signing.

What the bond protects. Infosys’s justification for the bond is the investment in Mysore training. The training represents a genuine cost - residential infrastructure, faculty, course material, assessment systems, stipend during training - that is only recouped if the trained employee works on client delivery for a sufficient period. The bond is the contractual mechanism for ensuring partial cost recovery if the employee leaves before a minimum payback period.

What the bond does not restrict. The bond restricts resignation within the bond period but does not restrict the employee from working in other industries after exit, from pursuing further education, from speaking about their Infosys experience, or from any other post-employment activity not explicitly covered in the agreement. The bond is a minimum service commitment, not a broad non-compete or non-solicitation clause (though the offer letter may contain separate confidentiality clauses that govern how proprietary client and company information is handled post-exit).

What Happens If You Break the Bond

Breaking the bond means resigning before the minimum service commitment period is completed. The sequence of events that follows is:

The demand letter. When an employee resigns within the bond period, HR formally flags the bond obligation during the exit processing. The employee may be asked to pay the bond amount before the exit is processed, or a demand letter may be sent to the employee’s registered address after the exit is finalised. Not all bond departures result in an immediate demand letter - the response depends on the business unit, the specific exit circumstances, and internal decisions about enforcement.

Negotiations in some cases. In some cases, particularly where the exit is for compelling personal circumstances (medical, family, relocation for spouse’s employment), Infosys HR has discretion to negotiate a partial settlement of the bond amount or to waive enforcement entirely. Employees in genuine hardship situations who are transparent with HR about the circumstances may find a more flexible response than the bond clause text implies. This is not guaranteed, but it is a realistic possibility in sympathetic circumstances.

Background verification implications. The most practical consequence of a bond break for many employees is not the financial claim but the background verification record. Infosys’s BGV response to future employers may note that the separation involved a bond obligation, though the specific language varies. In many cases, the BGV note is simply that the employee resigned, without specific bond language. Employees who break the bond and are concerned about the BGV record should, if possible, confirm the expected BGV response language with Infosys HR before the exit is finalised.

The legal enforceability of service bonds in Indian employment law is genuinely contested. Indian courts have taken varying positions on whether bond enforcement constitutes an unreasonable restraint of trade under Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, which voids agreements in restraint of trade.

The dominant judicial view in Indian employment bond cases has been that bonds requiring specific performance (forcing an employee to continue working) are not enforceable, but that bonds claiming liquidated damages (asking the employee to pay a specified amount) may be enforceable if the amount is a genuine pre-estimate of the loss rather than a penalty. Infosys’s bond is structured as liquidated damages, which places it within the potentially enforceable category.

In practice, Infosys rarely pursues active litigation to recover bond amounts from individual employees. The cost of litigation relative to the bond recovery amount makes it economically unattractive in most cases. The demand letter and the potential for a mark on the employment record are the primary practical deterrents, not an active legal pursuit.

The most accurate summary of the Infosys bond situation is: it is legally framed as enforceable, practically pursued selectively and inconsistently, and in most cases resolved through either voluntary payment, negotiated settlement, or simply ignored departure. Candidates who are signing the bond should read it as a genuine commitment they intend to honour rather than as a paper obstacle they can easily ignore, while also understanding that the enforcement mechanism is less certain than the contract language implies.

Moonlighting Policy at Infosys

Infosys’s employment terms, like most large Indian IT companies, prohibit moonlighting - defined as working for another employer or taking on employment that creates a conflict of interest with Infosys employment. The policy applies both to concurrent employment at a competing organisation and to any activity that uses Infosys’s confidential information, client data, or intellectual property for external benefit.

What is actually prohibited. The specific prohibitions in Infosys’s employment terms typically include: employment (paid or unpaid) at a competing IT services company while employed at Infosys, using client project knowledge for external consulting or freelance work in the same domain, soliciting Infosys clients or colleagues for a competing business, and any activity that creates a conflict of interest with Infosys’s delivery obligations.

What is practically tolerated. Minor freelance activities that do not involve competing work, client data, or Infosys confidential information are practically tolerated by most employees’ experience. Writing technology articles or tutorials for external platforms, tutoring students in technical subjects, contributing to open-source projects on personal time, or providing advice in a completely unrelated domain (cooking, music, sports coaching) are activities that do not violate the spirit of the conflict-of-interest policy and are not typically pursued.

The enforcement landscape. Infosys has not made as public a moonlighting enforcement action as Wipro did in a widely covered case, but the contractual prohibition is real and the potential consequences - including termination - are part of the employment terms. Employees who are simultaneously employed at another organisation while at Infosys are in a clearly prohibited situation. The risk of discovery is not zero and is higher than many employees assume, particularly where social media, LinkedIn updates, or professional community interactions create visible records of the dual employment.

The new tax return disclosure angle. India’s income tax system now has mechanisms for detecting multiple income sources through Form 26AS and Annual Information Statements (AIS), which aggregate all income and tax deduction data for an individual’s PAN number. An employee who receives income from multiple employers in the same financial year creates a visible record in these tax documents that a diligent HR or compliance team can potentially access. This is not a guarantee of detection, but it is a channel that reduces the concealment that dual employment requires.

Internal Transfer Mechanisms

Infosys provides several formal and informal mechanisms for employees to move between projects, technologies, geographies, and roles within the organisation without leaving.

The Internal Job Posting (IJP) system. IJP is the primary formal mechanism for internal transfers. Open positions are posted on the internal career portal, and eligible employees (minimum one year in current project, Meets Expectations or above in recent appraisal) can apply. The IJP process for a bench employee is faster because the one-year-in-project requirement is waived. The application leads to a manager-level review, a brief technical discussion, and if successful, a formal transfer through HR.

Direct manager-to-manager connections. Many internal transfers at Infosys happen through informal manager-to-manager conversations rather than through the formal IJP system. A project manager with an open requirement may reach out directly to the manager of an employee they have heard about through the internal network, bypassing the IJP posting entirely. For employees who want a specific type of transfer (to a specific account or technology area), building relationships with managers in that area - through practice community participation, knowledge sharing events, or direct professional networking - can create these informal transfer pathways.

The Career Development team. Infosys’s internal Career Development team (or equivalent, which may be called by different names in different business units) works with employees who are specifically seeking career direction changes - moving from a technical track to a management track, switching from one technology domain to another, or exploring a business consulting career path within Infosys. Engaging with this team is most useful for employees who have a clear destination in mind and can articulate the business case for why Infosys should invest in their transition.

Practice community participation. Infosys’s technology practices (Cloud, Data and Analytics, AI, Digital Experience, etc.) maintain internal communities of practice where employees across accounts can connect, share knowledge, and build professional networks. Participating actively in these communities increases visibility across practice boundaries and creates the kind of cross-account relationships that support informal internal transfers.

The Complete Resignation Process

Resigning from Infosys is a well-defined process with specific steps that must be followed for the exit to be formally clean. Understanding each step prevents the missteps that create unnecessary complications.

Step 1: Initiating the Resignation

The resignation at Infosys is initiated through the InfyMe portal (the internal HRMS). The employee navigates to the separation section, selects the resignation option, specifies the intended last working day (which must be consistent with the notice period), and submits the resignation form. The system then initiates the workflow that requires manager acknowledgment and HR processing.

Important: Do not resign only verbally. A resignation communicated only verbally to the manager, without the formal HRMS submission, is not a legally initiated separation. The notice period countdown begins from the date of the formal HRMS submission. Employees who verbally inform their manager of their intention to leave without submitting the formal resignation are in an ambiguous position where the notice period has not formally started.

Timing the resignation. The resignation submission date determines the last working day based on the 90-day notice period. Choose the submission date carefully relative to the joining date at the new employer. Working backward from the desired last working day (accounting for the 90-day notice), the submission date must be at least 90 days before that last day.

Step 2: Notice Period Management

The 90-day notice period is the most significant feature of the Infosys resignation process. During this period, the employee is expected to continue their normal work responsibilities to the same professional standard as before resignation.

The critical importance of professional conduct during notice. Employees who disengage from work, reduce effort, or become visibly disinterested after submitting resignation create a negative record that affects the manager’s willingness to cooperate with the clearance process, the quality of the experience letter content (where the manager has input), and the general goodwill that makes a clean exit easier. Maintaining full professional engagement through the notice period - delivering committed work, completing knowledge transfer, attending meetings - is both ethically appropriate and practically strategic.

Manager cooperation as a variable. Some managers, when an employee resigns, become uncooperative - delaying the HRMS acknowledgment, making the notice period uncomfortable, or communicating the resignation negatively to colleagues. These behaviours are policy violations by the manager, and employees who experience them have recourse through the HR Business Partner. However, managing the situation diplomatically rather than escalating immediately is often more effective - understanding that a manager’s frustration at losing a valued team member is human, and giving the manager space to process the news before expecting full cooperation, usually produces a better outcome.

Step 3: Buyout of Notice Period

The notice period can be shortened through a buyout, where the joining employer pays the equivalent of the notice period salary to Infosys in lieu of the employee serving the full 90 days. This is formally called “notice period buyout” and is a standard mechanism that Infosys accepts.

How the buyout works. The buyout amount is calculated based on the employee’s current base salary (fixed pay) for the remaining notice period days. The joining employer typically pays this amount directly to the employee, who then pays it to Infosys through the clearance process. Some employers pay it directly to Infosys through a bank transfer, but the mechanism varies by the new employer’s willingness to manage the paperwork.

Negotiating a reduced notice period without buyout. In some cases, the project manager and business unit head may agree to release the employee earlier than 90 days without a financial buyout - for example, if the project is at a wind-down phase and the employee’s work can be concluded within 30 to 45 days. This requires the manager’s goodwill and the business unit’s agreement, and is more likely when the employee has maintained positive relationships and the project context supports early release.

Step 4: Knowledge Transfer

The knowledge transfer (KT) process is the practical handover of the departing employee’s project knowledge - the codebase familiarity, client relationship context, documentation state, and ongoing responsibilities - to colleagues who will continue the work after the exit.

What effective KT involves. Effective KT is not one final session on the last day. It is a structured process spanning two to four weeks that includes: documenting the current state of all work in progress, creating or updating technical documentation for systems the departing employee owns, conducting sessions with colleagues who will take over specific responsibilities, providing client introductions to successors, and walking through any pending issues or open items that require continued action.

KT as an exit quality signal. The quality of knowledge transfer is one of the clearest visible signals of the departing employee’s professional character. A thorough, organised KT reflects well on the employee and is noted in the manager’s informal assessment that influences the experience letter content. A rushed, minimal KT that leaves colleagues scrambling creates negative impressions that persist long after the exit.

Step 5: Exit Interview

Infosys conducts formal exit interviews as part of the separation process. The exit interview is typically conducted by the HR Business Partner or a representative from the HR function, separate from the departing employee’s direct manager.

What the exit interview covers. The exit interview asks about the reasons for leaving, the employee’s experience at Infosys (what worked well, what did not), the factors that influenced the decision to join the new employer, and suggestions for improvement. Infosys uses this data to understand attrition patterns and to identify systemic improvement opportunities.

How to approach the exit interview. The exit interview is an opportunity to provide honest, constructive feedback while maintaining the professional relationship. Venting frustrations in a way that creates interpersonal conflict or bridges burned is not in the departing employee’s interest. Providing specific, factual feedback - “the project I was on did not provide exposure to the technology areas I was interested in” or “the appraisal feedback could be more specific and developmental” - is more useful to Infosys and leaves a more professional impression than general complaints.

What exit interview data is used for. The feedback from exit interviews is aggregated and reported to business unit leadership as part of attrition analysis. Individual responses are typically treated as confidential within the HR function, though the confidentiality cannot be guaranteed in all circumstances. Employees who have strong concerns about confidentiality can choose to be more general in their feedback responses.

Step 6: Final Day and Clearance Process

The final working day involves a formal clearance process through which the employee obtains approvals from multiple departments before the exit is considered complete.

The clearance checklist. The formal clearance at Infosys involves obtaining sign-off from: the project manager (confirming completion of knowledge transfer and project deliverables), IT (confirming return of any company-issued equipment and revocation of system access), finance (confirming no outstanding financial obligations, expense settlements, or advances), HR (confirming completion of all exit formalities), and admin (confirming clearance of any facilities or asset obligations).

The clearance process typically involves physically visiting each department (or completing digital clearances through the HRMS) and obtaining formal sign-off. Employees who have outstanding financial obligations - unreturned advances, undocumented expense claims, company-issued equipment not returned - will find the clearance process delayed until these are resolved.

Laptop and equipment return. If Infosys issued a laptop or other equipment, this must be returned in good condition on or before the last working day. Personal data must be wiped from company equipment before return. Failure to return equipment delays the clearance process and can result in a recovery claim for the equipment’s book value.

ID card and access revocation. The Infosys ID card is collected on the final day. System access (email, intranet, project systems) is revoked as part of the clearance process, typically at the end of the last working day or the following business day. Employees who need to access Infosys systems after revocation for legitimate reasons (such as retrieving personal data) must coordinate with HR in advance.

Post-Exit: Documents, PF, and Gratuity

Experience Letter and Relieving Letter

Two documents are critical for the departing employee’s future employment: the experience letter and the relieving letter.

The relieving letter confirms that the employee has been formally relieved of their duties at Infosys and that the exit was completed on the specified date. It is the formal certification of the separation from Infosys and is required by most new employers for the background verification and joining formalities.

The experience letter (sometimes called the service letter or employment certificate) states the employee’s name, designation(s) held, period of employment, and sometimes a statement of conduct and performance. The specific language in the experience letter varies - some letters are formulaic and neutral; others, at the manager’s input, may contain more specific language about the employee’s contributions.

Obtaining these documents. Both letters are typically issued through the HRMS system after the clearance process is complete. The digital versions are available through the InfyMe portal; physical copies can be requested if needed for specific purposes (some visa applications or government document submissions require physical originals).

What to do if the letter is delayed. In some cases, particularly if the clearance process has unresolved items, the experience and relieving letters are delayed. Employees who need these documents urgently (for joining formality at the new employer) should escalate through the HR Business Partner, providing the timeline requirements clearly. Most new employers accept a digital confirmation from Infosys HR as an interim measure while the formal letter is processed.

PF Settlement and Transfer

The Employee Provident Fund accumulated during Infosys employment belongs to the employee and must be handled after exit.

Two options: Transfer or withdrawal. Employees who are joining another organisation that also falls under the EPF Act (which covers most large companies) should transfer the PF balance to the new employer’s trust rather than withdrawing it. Transfer preserves the tax exemption on the accumulated balance and maintains the five-year continuous service count for tax-free withdrawal at retirement. Withdrawal before completing five years of total EPF service makes the entire withdrawal taxable.

The transfer process. PF transfer is initiated through the EPFO member portal (epfindia.gov.in) or through the new employer’s PF trust. The UAN (Universal Account Number) is the identifier that connects PF accounts across employers. Ensuring the UAN is linked and activated at Infosys before exit simplifies the transfer process significantly. The UAN linkage can be verified and activated through the EPFO portal or the Infosys HR helpdesk.

Withdrawal option for those not joining immediately. Employees who are taking a break between jobs (for further education, personal reasons, or an extended job search) can withdraw the PF balance. Withdrawal is possible two months after leaving employment. Full withdrawal before five years of total EPF service is taxable; after five years of total EPF contributions across all employers, the withdrawal is tax-free.

Gratuity: Who Gets It and When

Gratuity is a statutory benefit payable to employees who have completed a minimum of five continuous years of service with the same employer. The gratuity amount is calculated as 15 days of the last drawn basic salary for each completed year of service.

The five-year threshold. Employees who leave Infosys before completing five continuous years of service do not receive gratuity from Infosys, regardless of the accumulated gratuity in the offer letter’s CTC calculation. This is one of the most common misunderstandings about gratuity: the CTC includes a gratuity accrual, but the accrual is forfeit if the minimum service period is not completed.

Receiving gratuity. Employees who complete five or more years and resign receive gratuity as part of their full and final settlement. The payment is made through the standard payroll processing after exit clearance is complete. Gratuity is tax-exempt up to a specified limit (currently 20 lakhs) under Section 10(10) of the Income Tax Act.

Gratuity in the context of the bond. Employees who are within the bond period (one year from training completion) and resign will not have reached five years of service, so gratuity is not applicable to their exit. The bond, the gratuity threshold, and the PF transfer all represent different financial considerations for different departure timing scenarios.

Form 16 and Tax Documents

Form 16 is the annual TDS certificate that Infosys issues to employees for the financial year. For employees who resign during the financial year (April to March), the Form 16 for that year covers only the period of employment within the year, not the full year.

The Form 16 for the partial year is typically issued at the end of the financial year (after March 31) along with all other employees’ Form 16. Employees who need the TDS certificate for the partial year before the standard issuance (for example, for a refund claim or for the new employer’s tax computation) can request an interim certificate from Infosys’s payroll team.

The new employer will request the previous employer’s TDS details (Form 12B or the relevant form) to compute the combined income for the financial year and determine the correct TDS to deduct for the balance of the year. Ensuring this information is provided accurately to the new employer prevents over- or under-deduction of TDS in the joining year.

Background Verification After Exit

Most new employers initiate background verification on joining, which includes verification of previous employment. Understanding what Infosys reports during this verification prevents surprises.

What the verification confirms. Infosys’s background verification response to third-party verification agencies confirms: the employee’s dates of employment (start date, last working date), the designation(s) held during employment, and typically a neutral statement that the employee resigned. It does not typically include performance rating information, disciplinary history, or subjective assessments.

The bond break note. Where a bond was broken (the employee resigned within the minimum service period), the BGV response may include a note about this, or may simply confirm the employment and resignation dates without specific bond language. The specific language in the BGV response is controlled by Infosys’s HR process, and employees who are concerned about what the response contains can, in some cases, ask Infosys HR what the standard BGV response for a bond-break departure includes.

The performance improvement plan note. Employees who were on a formal Performance Improvement Plan at the time of separation may have this noted in the BGV response, depending on the HR process governing their exit. This is a more sensitive BGV situation and may warrant a direct conversation with the new employer about the circumstances before the BGV results are received.

The timing of BGV. BGV initiation timing varies by the new employer. Some initiate it before the joining date; others initiate it in the first week of employment. Employees who have any complication in their Infosys employment history (bond break, PIP, extended bench) should disclose the relevant information to the new employer proactively rather than waiting for it to surface in the BGV. Proactive disclosure allows a conversation about context; discovery through BGV without prior disclosure can feel like a concealment.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Infosys notice period, and can it be reduced?

The standard Infosys notice period is 90 days for most employees. It can be reduced through a buyout, where the employee (or the joining employer) pays the equivalent of the remaining notice period salary to Infosys. It can also be reduced by the business unit’s agreement to release the employee early without financial buyout, which happens when the project context allows it. The 90-day notice is formally stated in the employment terms and is enforced; it is not simply a policy that can be unilaterally shortened by the employee.

2. How does onsite selection work at Infosys? Is there a waiting list?

There is no formal waiting list for onsite deployment at Infosys. Onsite selection is driven by project demand: when a specific role is required at a client site, the internal staffing team searches for matching employees. Selection prioritises skill alignment, communication proficiency, client preference, and visa eligibility. Employees who want to maximise onsite probability should keep their skill profile current, build positive client relationships through offshore delivery, and explicitly communicate their onsite availability and geographic flexibility to their manager and the RMG team.

3. What happens if I am on the bench for more than 6 months?

Extended bench periods beyond six months typically trigger formal attention from the talent management team. The response depends on the circumstances - whether the extended bench reflects a skill demand mismatch, a period of wider business slowdown, or a specific individual situation. In most cases, the response is supportive: increased staffing effort, suggestions for skill development to improve deployability, or internal project assignments to maintain productive engagement. In some cases, particularly where multiple factors combine unfavourably, a formal conversation about the employee’s future with Infosys may occur. Maintaining proactive engagement with the RMG team throughout the bench period is the most effective way to prevent bench duration from reaching this threshold.

4. Is the Infosys bond legally enforceable?

The legal enforceability of Infosys’s service agreement is uncertain under Indian employment law. Indian courts have shown mixed positions on whether bonds requiring payment of a specified amount constitute enforceable liquidated damages or void restraints of trade. In practice, Infosys rarely pursues active litigation to recover bond amounts from individual departing employees. The most realistic consequences of breaking the bond are a demand letter for the bond amount and a potential note in the background verification record. The bond should be treated as a genuine commitment, not as a guaranteed paper obstacle that can be safely ignored, but the enforcement mechanism is less certain than the contract language implies.

5. Can I do freelance work while employed at Infosys?

The employment terms at Infosys prohibit work that creates a conflict of interest or involves the use of Infosys or client confidential information. Minor freelance activities unrelated to the IT services industry (writing, tutoring, non-competing consulting) are practically tolerated in most cases but are technically covered by the broader conflict-of-interest framework. Concurrent employment at a competing IT services organisation is clearly prohibited and carries the risk of termination if discovered. The safest approach for any freelance activity is to ensure it has no connection to Infosys’s clients, technology, or confidential information.

6. What documents do I receive when I resign from Infosys?

After completing the clearance process, departing employees receive: an experience letter (confirming designation, period of service, and conduct), a relieving letter (confirming formal relief from duties on the exit date), a Form 16 for the partial financial year (typically issued after financial year end), a PF transfer or settlement confirmation (depending on the option chosen), and a gratuity settlement (for employees completing five or more years of service). These documents are available through the InfyMe portal in digital form; physical copies can be requested.

7. How long does the Infosys clearance process take?

The clearance process typically takes two to four weeks after the last working day for the digital documents to be issued. The timeline depends on whether all clearance sign-offs were obtained before the last day (which is the ideal scenario), whether there are any outstanding financial obligations to resolve, and the current processing load in Infosys’s separation management team. Employees who need documents urgently can escalate through HR with specific timing requirements.

8. Can Infosys recover the bond amount if I have already joined another company?

Yes, Infosys can send a demand letter to the employee’s registered address after the exit even after the employee has joined a new company. The financial recovery demand is against the individual, not their new employer. Whether Infosys pursues active recovery (through legal action) depends on the specific circumstances and is inconsistently applied. Employees who have broken the bond and received a demand letter should assess whether settling the amount is appropriate given the circumstances, and may wish to consult a lawyer regarding the enforceability and any applicable defences.

9. What is the Infosys PF withdrawal process after resignation?

PF withdrawal or transfer is initiated through the EPFO member portal using the UAN number. For transfer to a new employer, the member submits a transfer claim online, which requires the UAN to be linked to both the old and new employer. For withdrawal (available two months after separation), the member submits a withdrawal claim online. The EPFO processes transfer claims typically within 20 to 30 business days. Employees should ensure their Aadhaar is linked to the UAN before initiating any PF transaction, as Aadhaar linkage is required for online processing.

10. Does Infosys provide good references for employees who have resigned?

The formal Infosys background verification response is neutral and factual - it confirms employment dates and designation without subjective reference content. Individual managers may agree to provide personal reference letters or to be listed as professional references for specific job applications, but this is a discretionary action by the individual manager rather than an Infosys HR function. Employees who want a professional reference from Infosys should cultivate the relationship with a specific manager who knows their work well and ask explicitly if they are willing to serve as a reference.

11. Can I be reinstated at Infosys if I want to rejoin after resigning?

Infosys does hire former employees, often called “boomerang hires,” through the standard lateral hiring process. Former employees are evaluated on the same criteria as external candidates - the hiring decision is not automatically unfavourable simply because of the prior resignation. The specific circumstances of the exit (whether the bond was honoured, whether the KT and clearance were professional, whether the manager relationship ended positively) can influence the informal advocacy that supports a reinstatement application. Employees who exited on good terms and have built stronger skills during their time away are competitive candidates for rehire.

12. What happens to my leave balance when I resign?

Earned leave (annual leave) that has been accumulated but not taken is typically either encashed at the time of exit or required to be served as part of the notice period. The specific policy on whether leave can be encashed or must be adjusted against the notice period is governed by Infosys’s leave policy. Employees who have significant accumulated leave balance should clarify with HR how it will be handled at the start of the notice period, since the answer affects the actual cash settlement and the notice period duration.

Understanding Infosys’s workplace mechanics - from the onsite selection system to the bench dynamics to the last step of the exit process - is practical knowledge that directly affects the quality of the employment experience and the smoothness of any eventual transition. The organisation operates on documented systems and processes that behave consistently when engaged with correctly. Knowing those systems before you need to navigate them is the advantage this guide is designed to provide.