After confessing to an online community to cheating in a recent client assessment, a TCS associate who joined under the Ninja profile in March 2025 is facing a difficult situation. A red flag that caused concern at the client and internal levels was the employee’s test submission, which was flagged as being exactly the same as that of a teammate while they were working on a non-tech project.
The employee stated that they were willing to undergo a re-evaluation in order to make amends, even though they had not publicly admitted to any wrongdoing in front of their supervisor or HR. But when the HR representative asked for an apology email, things became very serious.
Why is the TCS employee worried?
Now, the associate is worried. “I’m scared to write the apology because it could be used as proof against me. What if HR raises a formal complaint after I send it?,” the associate posted in a forum to ask the online community for advice.
The fear is not unjustified. Client evaluations are taken seriously in big IT firms like TCS, particularly when they are connected to project deliverables and integrity. Depending on the seriousness of the case and the client’s reaction, admitting to malpractice, even indirectly, may result in disciplinary measures ranging from a warning letter to termination.
‘It is all upto your manager now’
Netizens raised their opinion on this issue. “TLDR; op cheated and got caught. This is one strike against you. Now it depends on your manager whether to keep you in the account or move you to bench,” opined a user.
“You are not in college anymore. Companies may put up with bad developers. But they consider ethical violations very seriously.This is especially true in service companies when it comes to clients. TCS can’t afford to lose the trust of the client. So if the client demands your sacrifice they will gladly make it,” added a netizen.
“Yes, 101%. Don’t accept your fault, just resign since you get caught,” noted another user. “Technically you have committed an ethical violation. If they wanted to, they could’ve terminated you on the spot. Eat it and write the letter. It will sit in your personal file till you leave the organization but I doubt anyone goes digging into that file, unless you repeat the offense or do something worse,” added a third user.
“Ask for reassessment. Don’t admit, or apologize, if you do— you are out. They don’t have evidence that is why they want this,” stated another.