India’s largest bank State Bank of India (SBI) has approved the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) under which about 30,190 employees may be asked to accept it. The proposed scheme — ‘Second Innings Tap VRS-2020‘ — is aimed at optimizing human resources and costs of the bank. According to sources, a draft scheme for VRS has been prepared and board approval is awaited. The scheme will be opened 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. Bank would save approximately Rs 1,662.86 crore.
It 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 scheme will open on December 1 and will remain open till the end of February, it said, adding that applications for VRS will be accepted during this period only. As per the proposed eligibility criteria, a total of 11,565 officers and 18,625 staff members will be eligible for the scheme.
“The staff member 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 (up to the date of superannuation), subject to a maximum of 18 months’ last drawn salary,” it said. Other benefits like gratuity, pension, provident and medical benefits will be given to employees seeking VRS.
A staff member retired under the scheme will be eligible for engagement or re-employment in the bank after a cooling-off period of two years from the date of retirement.