Accenture offers bonuses up to 26%, freezes most salary hikes
What's the story
Accenture, a global IT services company, has announced performance-linked bonuses of up to 26% for its top performers in India. The move comes as part of the November 2026 rewards cycle. However, it's worth noting that salary hikes and promotions are still on hold for most employees. The bonus payouts range from 8% for those in the lowest eligible performance category to 26% for high achievers.
Workforce impact
Bonus payment structure based on employee seniority
Accenture's India workforce accounts for nearly three-fourths of its global headcount of over 800,000 employees.
The company follows a staggered bonus payment structure based on employee seniority.
Employees up to Career Level 9 (team leads) get bonuses twice a year, in June and November. Those above this level receive their bonuses once a year, only in November.
Compensation freeze
Salary hikes and promotions on hold
Despite the generous bonus payouts, salary hikes and promotions have been largely on hold.
Employees who have not changed their career levels haven't received any salary hikes. Promotions have also been extremely limited in this cycle.
This is because Accenture has moved its main promotion and base pay revision cycle to June, leaving the November-December period mostly for bonus payouts.
Past revisions
Last year, Accenture revived salary hikes after 2.5 years
Last year, Accenture had given salary hikes of 3% to 13% for employees at Level 8 (Associate Manager) and above in its June 2025 performance cycle.
The move marked the first such increments in two-and-a-half years.
Along with the salary revisions, nearly 50,000 employees globally were promoted, including about 15,000 in India.