Zomato stirs debate in India over no-salary senior role with application fee

Indian food delivery giant Zomato has sparked outrage and debate over a job listing for a senior role that requires an upfront fee and no salary for the first year, dividing opinions on whether it reflects innovative hiring or the country’s toxic workplace culture.

Deepinder Goyal, founder and CEO of Zomato, posted the job listing for a chief of staff position on Wednesday, which he promised would provide more of an education than a management school degree.

Rather than receiving pay, the candidate is expected to contribute two million Indian rupees (US$24,000), which the company says will be donated to a charity called Feeding India. Additionally, the salary equivalent for the role in the first year would be donated to another charity of the candidate’s choice.

From the second year onwards, the position promises a minimum annual salary of five million Indian rupees.

The job posting emphasised that the ideal candidate does not need “a lot of experience” but should possess “a lot of common sense” and “empathy”.

Goyal’s post sparked a flurry of comments on social media blasting the job listing as being exploitative and unfair. Echoing many others, one user asked if the job’s requirements meant “young people with no money will not be able to apply, but those whose parents are rich can?”