Send staff doing sensitive jobs on surprise 10-day leave, RBI tells banks

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued modified risk management guidelines under which banks will have to give 10 days of mandatory leave every year to employees working in sensitive positions like treasury operations and currency chests.

Bankers posted in “sensitive positions or areas of operation shall be compulsorily sent on leave for a few days (not less than 10 working days) in a single spell every year,” the RBIsaid in a notification on Friday. This should be done “without giving any prior intimation to these employees, thereby maintaining an element of surprise”, it added.

The revised norms repeal the circular dated April 23, 2015. Banks have six months to comply with these instructions.

While on mandatory leave, the bankers must not have access to any physical or virtual resources related to their work, with the only exception being internal/corporate email, the RBI said. Banks will also prepare a list of sensitive positions to be covered under “mandatory leave” requirements and the list will be reviewed periodically.

Mandatory leave for staff was first introduced in May 2011 following a sharp increase in bank frauds. In the 2015 circular, it was clarified that staff working in sensitive positions or areas of operations be asked to go on surprise leave.