At my place (not software), they ask me to perform the job at the next level, in order to prove that I can do it, before promoting me. They also require that at least 2 years are spent at each level. And during Corona they didn't promote anybody, meaning everybody`s career slid back by up to an extra year, depending on where u were in the cycle.

I would've much preferred if they had promoted ppl and done salary increases later.