How Accenture's new salary hike plan will cover more employees in 2026

Global IT services company Accenture has revamped its annual salary hike process by splitting pay increases equally between base salary and a one-time lump-sum payment.

The move that is expected to allow a larger number of employees to receive compensation increases while helping the company manage its payroll costs.

According to an internal memo cited by PTI, the company has significantly expanded the number of employees receiving salary hikes in its primary June compensation cycle, after limiting "stay-at-level" salary increases for many employees last year.

Under the new compensation structure, talent and group leads will first determine the overall percentage increase for an eligible employee.

The increase will then be divided equally between a permanent increase in base pay and a one-time lump-sum payment.

For example, if an employee is approved for a 3% salary increase, 1.5% will be added to the employee's base salary, while the remaining 1.5% will be paid as a lump sum.

The company said the model is designed to balance employee expectations with cost management.

While the lump-sum component provides employees with immediate cash, limiting the increase to base pay enables Accenture to extend salary hikes to a larger section of its workforce without proportionately increasing its long-term payroll obligations.

The revised structure applies only to annual compensation increases and not to promotions.

Employees receiving promotions will continue to receive the entire salary increase through base pay, without any split between salary and lump-sum payment.

The company also clarified that the one-time payment will not replace its regular performance bonus paid during the December compensation cycle.

Both the increase in base pay and the lump-sum payment will count towards an employee's eligible earnings for the financial year and will be considered while calculating the FY26 bonus.

For employees enrolled in the Voluntary Equity Investment Program (VEIP) or the Employee Share Purchase Plan (ESPP), the lump-sum payment will also be subject to the applicable percentage deductions under those programmes.