SBI Launches VRS For 30,000 Employees; Will Hire 14,000 Staff In 2020!

As per reports, to improve the human resources and budget of the bank, the State Bank of India (SBI) has planned a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS).

Meanwhile, SBI is also planning to hire 14,000 employees during the current year. 

Read on to find out more about SBI’s plans…

Features of the SBI Voluntary Retirement Scheme!

According to the reports, over 30,000 employees will be eligible for the SBI VRS. A total of 11,565 officers and 18,625 staff can avail of this scheme.

The total workforce strength of SBI is 2.49 lakh as of the end of March 2020 whereas last year it was 2.57 lakh.

If 30% of the eligible employees opt for the SBI VRS, the country’s largest lender stands to save around ?2,170.85 crores.

The news agency PTI reported that the ‘Second Innings Tap VRS-2020′, the proposed scheme “will provide an option and a respectable exit route to employees who have reached a level of saturation in their career, may not be at the peak of their performance, have some personal issue or want to pursue their professional or personal life outside the bank.”

The applications for VRS can be submitted between December 1 till the end of February. The draft said applications will only be accepted during this period. 

According to PTI sources, a draft scheme for VRS has been prepared and board approval is awaited.

An SBI spokesperson said that this proposed VRS is not a cost-cutting exercise

Eligibility for VRS

1. All permanent employees who have completed 25 years of service at the bank or,
2. All permanent employees who have completed 55 years of age on the cut-off date.

Benefits of VRS

Any employee whose request for retirement under SBI VRS is accepted will be-

1. “Paid an ex gratia amounting 50% of salary for the residual period of service (up to the date of superannuation), subject to a maximum of 18 months’ last drawn salary,” the bank said.
2. Gratuity.
3. Pension.
4. Provident Fund benefits.
5. Medical benefits.
6. Eligible for engagement or re-employment in the bank after a cooling-off period of 2 years from the date of retirement.

New Recruitments At SBI

SBI in a statement said, that “the bank has been employee-friendly and is expanding its operations and requires people, which is evidenced by the fact that Bank has plans of recruiting more than 14,000 employees this year.”

It also said that “the bank has been at the forefront of serving employee needs and assisting them in their life journey.”

The statement said, “In this backdrop, it was thought to provide a congenial solution to employees who expressed desire for making strategic shift in their vocations, either due to professional growth limitations, mobility issues, physical health conditions or family situations.”

Furthermore, the bank said that it is deeply desirous of skilling the unemployed youth of the country, “as is evidenced by the fact that we are the only bank in the country which has onboarded Apprentices under the National Apprenticeship Scheme of Government of India.”

We will keep you updated, as more details come in.