Infosys has landed in regulatory trouble in France after being fined approximately ₹2 crore (EUR 175,000) for failing to meet local requirements for recording employee working hours. The development coincides
with the company’s stricter office attendance mandate in India, bringing its workplace policies under renewed public attention.
DRIEETS Île-de-France, the regional labour authority in France, imposed the penalty. In a filing to the stock exchanges, Infosys confirmed that it had received a communication from the regulator regarding the collection of the fine. The company stated that it is currently reviewing the notice and evaluating its next course of action.
According to the French labour authority, Infosys’ system for recording employee working hours failed to fully comply with local legal requirements. The regulator flagged concerns over the reliability of the system, its ability to maintain auditable records and its monitoring capabilities for certain categories of employees.
Under French labour laws, employers are required to accurately record employees’ working hours, including the country’s statutory 35-hour workweek, overtime and mandatory rest periods.
These records must be reliable, transparent and available for audit whenever required. However, the filing does not specify which categories of Infosys employees were impacted by the findings or whether the company has been directed to make specific changes to its time-recording mechanism.
Despite the penalty, Infosys has maintained that the financial impact will be minimal. The company said the fine is not expected to have a material effect on its financial position, business operations or overall activities.
Return-to-office policy under focus
The development also comes amid Infosys’ stricter office attendance requirements for employees in India.
Earlier, employees at Job Level 7 and above were required to work from the office four days a week. In March, reports suggested that the same mandate was extended to employees in the 6A band across select business units, bringing more senior staff under the revised attendance policy.
Murthy’s 72-hour workweek remarks return to discussion
The French penalty has also revived discussions around Infosys founder Narayana Murthy’s remarks advocating longer working hours for Indian professionals.
Murthy had previously argued that Indians should be willing to work 70-72 hours a week to help the country remain globally competitive. Referring to China’s well-known “9-9-6” work culture, he had remarked that “no individual, no community, no country has ever come up without hard work,” describing the schedule as working from 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week.
However, the issue raised by French authorities is unrelated to the number of hours employees work. Instead, it centres on whether Infosys’ time-recording system complies with French labour laws governing the documentation and monitoring of working hours.
Internet reacts
The development quickly gained traction after being shared by X user @gemsofbabus_, with several users weighing in on the controversy.
“Just 2cr in France! Just 2Cr for a company earning 20000cr in dollars,” said one user.
“Time change. Quality of thoughts depreciate. So it’s better to keep quiet instead of proposing new changes without understanding the ground reality. So, once seen as a techie would be seen as a buffoon. That’s what happened to NM,” said another.
🚨 Narayana Murthy wanted 72-hour work week, Infosys now fined ₹2 crore in France over employee time-recording system. pic.twitter.com/pGvsREUcy5
— Gems (@gemsofbabus_) July 28, 2026
“These are old fashioned guys who just Waisted whole life setting up business. Want to make every one’ Life miserable work for 72 hrs. AGI going to cut all that crap of hard work @Infosys,” said a third user.
“One of the main reason why Indians are preferring European countries as they have laws which states its illegal to call your employees after work hour, plus many also have law which categorises calling your employees on Saturday as criminal act too. Work and life balance in EU 💪” said a fourth.
“This fine is primarily due to unrecorded working hours. Under European law, all employees whether working locally or on deputation are required to submit their timesheets on a weekly basis,” said another.
