Blinkit Increases Notice Period for Employees As Quick Commerce Battle Intensifies 

Amid the quick commerce boom and the increasing need for talent, Blinkit has decided to go away with its no notice period policy. Now, the quick commerce platform has increased its notice period timing from zero to two months. Several employees, especially those in the top level, were made to sign the contracts with notice periods. 

This is as per a Moneycontrol report. This comes at a time when the intensifying demand of the quick commerce market has also increased talent hiring across companies. 

Interestingly, recently, Zomato highlighted how it has a no notice period policy. The company mentioned that once an employee decides to not be with a company, they have automatically detached from there. “By keeping them for another month for their notice period, you are only upsetting employees,” said Niharika Mohanty, Vice President, HR, Zomato, to the Economic Times in July 2024.

Read: Blinkit Goes Big in Smaller Cities: Can It Sustain in Kirana Strongholds?

Mohanty further reportedly said that the philosophy of Zomato highlights that the employee stays in the company on the basis of their will. She said, “If you want to be here, be here. If you don't want to be here, don't. If you want to come back, you can come back." 

The change in the company’s policy comes at a time when, amid the festive season rush, the demand for quick commerce service has been escalating. “E-commerce order volumes grew by 20% during the first four days of the festive season sale in 2024 (26th-29th Sept 2024) when compared to the first four days of the festive season sales last year (7th-10th Oct 2023),” as per e-commerce enablement Saas platform Unicommerce. 

Speaking to Moneycontrol about the recent notice period implementation, a source said, “Blinkit’s move is preemptive and also is a response to what is happening now. A well-funded competitor like Zepto or a large rival like Flipkart can make a handsome offer and easily poach talent from Blinkit. A lot of companies are doing that, and Blinkit is taking measures to avoid losing talent.” 

Further, when Blinkit gets to know that the employee is directly going to another competitor, they are either reportedly sent on a gardening leave or asked to leave immediately in order to prevent leakage of sensitive information. 

This comes at a time when poaching within the quick commerce sector is happening rampantly. For example, in July this year, media reports mentioned that Swiggy hired executives from both Amazon and Flipkart. Zepto, meanwhile, is offering higher competitive salaries along with other perks to attract talent.