Infosys, the Bengaluru-based IT services giant, has been fined €175,000 (approximately ₹2 crore) by DRIEETS Ile-de-France, the French regional labour authority, for failing to bring its employee working time recording system in line with French legal requirements. The company disclosed the penalty in a stock exchange filing, stating that it received the communication from the authority on July 24, 2026. This is not the first time Infosys has faced regulatory action over compliance matters abroad, and the case highlights the strict labour laws that global companies must navigate when operating in France.
The Penalty and the Findings
The French authority found that Infosys’s working time recording system did not fully comply with French legal requirements. Specifically, it cited shortcomings in three areas: reliability, auditability, and monitoring capabilities for certain categories of employees.
Infosys stated in its regulatory filing that the penalty is not material and will have no significant impact on its financial position, operations, or other business activities. The company also acknowledged a delay in disclosing the communication to stock exchanges, explaining that it needed additional time to verify the information received and determine the appropriate course of action before informing investors.
For context, Infosys reported a consolidated net profit of ₹7,769 crore for the June quarter of FY27, with revenue from operations climbing 14% year-on-year to ₹48,211 crore. The fine represents a fraction of the company’s quarterly earnings.
DRIEETS Ile-de-France: The Regulatory Body
DRIEETS stands for Direction Regionale de l’Economie, de l’Emploi, du Travail et des Solidarites (Regional Directorate for Economy, Employment, Work and Solidarity). These are regional units of the French Ministry of Labour that oversee labour law enforcement, employment policy, and economic regulation at the regional level.
The Ile-de-France region, which includes Paris and its surrounding areas, is the largest economic hub in France. DRIEETS Ile-de-France is responsible for ensuring that companies operating within the region comply with French labour laws, including regulations on working hours, overtime, rest periods, and employee time tracking.
France’s Strict Working Time Recording Rules
French labour law is among the most protective of employee rights in the world. The country’s 35-hour work week was established in 2000 through the Aubry laws, and subsequent regulations have placed stringent obligations on employers regarding working time recording.
Under French law, employers must maintain accurate records of working hours for all employees. The system must be reliable and auditable, meaning it should produce records that can be verified by labour inspectors. Companies are required to track daily working hours and ensure they comply with maximum limits: employees cannot work more than 10 hours a day or more than 44 hours per week on average over any 12 consecutive weeks.
The French Labour Code (Code du Travail) mandates that time recording systems must allow for retrospective verification. This is where Infosys’s system was found lacking. The authority concluded that the system did not provide adequate monitoring capabilities for certain employee categories, making it difficult to verify whether working time limits had been respected.
Infosys’s Broader Compliance Context
This is not the first compliance challenge Infosys has faced in foreign jurisdictions. In 2013, the company paid $34 million to settle civil claims with US authorities over allegations of systemic visa fraud. US authorities had accused Infosys of using B-1 visitor visas for work that should have required H-1B work visas, allowing the company to bring employees to the US without paying appropriate wages and taxes. Infosys denied any wrongdoing but settled to avoid prolonged litigation.
In 2019, the company paid $800,000 to settle a similar case with the State of California, where nearly 500 Infosys employees were found to have worked on B-1 visas instead of H-1B visas, leading to unpaid payroll taxes.
The France penalty, while much smaller in financial terms, adds to this pattern of regulatory scrutiny faced by Indian IT companies operating in jurisdictions with stringent labour and immigration laws.
Implications for Indian IT Services Companies
The Infosys case serves as a reminder of the compliance burden that Indian IT companies face when operating in developed markets. France, Germany, and other European countries have robust labour protections that differ significantly from Indian labour laws. Time tracking, overtime compensation, and employee monitoring are heavily regulated, and non-compliance can result in penalties, reputational damage, and increased scrutiny.
For the Indian IT services sector, which derives a substantial portion of its revenue from Europe (approximately 25% for Infosys alone), investing in local compliance infrastructure is not optional. Companies must ensure that their HR systems, including time tracking and payroll software, meet the specific legal requirements of each jurisdiction where they operate.
Key Takeaways
- DRIEETS Ile-de-France, the regional French labour authority, imposed a fine of €175,000 (₹2 crore) on Infosys for non-compliant working time recording.
- The authority cited shortcomings in the system’s reliability, auditability, and monitoring capabilities for certain employee categories.
- Infosys disclosed the penalty in a stock exchange filing after receiving the communication on July 24, 2026.
- French labour law mandates a 35-hour work week and requires employers to maintain accurate and auditable time records, with daily limits of 10 hours and weekly averages capped at 44 hours over 12 weeks.
- In 2013, Infosys paid $34 million to settle US allegations of systemic visa fraud involving B-1 visitor visas used in place of H-1B work visas.
- Infosys was founded in 1981 by N. R. Narayana Murthy and six others, is headquartered in Bengaluru, and reported a net profit of ₹7,769 crore in Q1 FY27.
