The State Bank of India (SBI) on September 7 announced that it is planning to hire 14,000 employees during the current year and that the VRS scheme was not a part of cost cutting. Infact, the scheme was meant for employees who expressed the desire for strategic shifts in their employment, either due to professional growth limitations, mobility issues, physical health conditions or family situations.
The hiring decision makes it quite evident that the Bank is planning to expand its operations and is in need of more people, hence the recruitment.
Earlier, the PSU bank had rolled out a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) under which about 30,190 employees are eligible. To be precise, a total of 11,565 officers and 18,625 staff members will be eligible for the scheme.
The scheme will be open on December 1 and applicable to all permanent officers and staff who have put in 25 years of service or completed 55 years of age on the cut-off date till the end of February.
The employees whose request for retirement under VRS is accepted will be paid an ex-gratia amounting 50 per cent of salary for the residual period of service.
The draft VRS scheme will reportedly provide an option to employees who have reached a ‘level of saturation in their career’, and may not be at the peak of their performance, or have some personal issue, or simply wish to pursue their professional or personal life outside the bank.
Gratuity, pension, provident and medical benefits will be given to employees seeking the VRS scheme.
Currently, SBI is standing strong with 2.50 lakh employees.
