Banks restrict staff attendance

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Mayur.Shetty@timesgroup.com

06.01.2022

Mumbai: Banks are drawing up preventive measures to deal with the third wave of Covid. This comes close on the heels of the Central government curtailing office attendance to 50% of workforce in the wake of the surge in infections.

For banks, the protocol will vary according to the district and a decision will be taken by State-Level Bankers’ Committees. Bank of India has said that physical attendance will be restricted to 50% in administrative offices, including head offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.

In branches, physical attendance shall be restricted to 75% in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. The remaining staff will work from home. The bank has also decided to increase availability of collaborative platforms like Citrix to facilita- te WFH. Pregnant women and those with disabilities are also being allowed to work from home in these three cities. 

Meanwhile, the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance has postponed the exams scheduled on January 8-9. Bankers in Mumbai said that the situation is dynamic and they are awaiting the local administration’s response to the rising numbers to draw up a strategy. In the financial capital, bank staff are dependant on local trains and any move to curtail them would impact operations.

The head offices of private banks have continued with a hybrid model even after the ebbing of the second wave. Officials said that work-from-home policy would continue for those in administrative offices, while branches would continue to have attendance.