UpGrad revokes pay cuts, extends WFH until December 31

Mumbai-based edtech startup UpGrad said on Wednesday that it has revoked salary cuts and will pay the arrears in July.

In order to cope with the economic uncertainty amid the Covid-19 pandemic, upGrad had rolled pay cuts, up to 30% based on seniority, for its employees shortly after the national lockdown announced by the government in March, according to a statement. 

UpGrad Education, which owns and operates the platform, has extended work-from-home (WFH) for all of its employees until December 31. The company had asked its staff to work remotely 10 days before the government announced shutdown.

"We sensed anxiety, apprehension amongst employees on when the office will resume. Keeping everyone’s well-being in mind we declared work-from-home till December 31 and we won't be opening our office even if the situation betters now, as we want employees to be relieved of this constant uncertainty," Mayank Kumar, co-founder and MD of upGrad said in the company’s quarterly townhall meeting. 

Founded in 2015, UpGrad claims to have onboarded over 30,000 paid learners. The platform offers online programmes in data science, technology, management and law to college students and working professionals. It has tied-up with education institutions such as IIT Madras, IIIT Bangalore, Jindal Global Law School, Duke CE, Deakin University and Liverpool John Moores University.

UpGrad, which claims an 85% program completion rate, was started by Ronnies Screwvala,  Phalgun Kompalli, Rajivot Chugh and Kumar. 

Like its peers in the edtech sector, upGrad has seen robust business growth due to the pandemic. In April, UpGrad said it is looking to acquire at least two to three startups offering online learning, especially in the higher education space and set aside $7 million (around Rs 50 crore) to fund these acquisitions. 

In the same month, the company appointed Byju's former CEO Arjun Mohan as its Chief Executive Officer.