RBI directs banks to strictly follow 'Mandatory Leave' policy

Coming down heavily on banks for not implementing mandatory leave policy effectively, the Reserve Bank today said that employees posted at sensitive areas are required to compulsorily avail leave of about 10 days in a single spell every year.
This comes after 'forensic scrutiny on guidelines for prevention of frauds' of RBI had found that the policy of mandatory leave was not being implemented effectively by the banks, leading to an increase in operational risks.
As per the guidelines, banks are required to have a policy for staff rotation and mandatory leave for their employees positioned in sensitive positions or areas.

Such employees are required to compulsorily avail of leave for a few days -- say 10 working days -- in a single spell every year, during their posting in such areas, RBI added.
"Banks are hereby advised that, as a prudent operational risk management measure, it is imperative that employees posted in sensitive positions or areas of operations- treasury, currency chests, risk modelling, model validation-- are covered under a 'Mandatory Leave' policy," RBI said in a notification.
The RBI further asked the banks to identify such highly sensitive positions where they will without any prior intimation, advise the employee to be away from his desk for a specified number of working days each year, it added.

"...It should be ensured that he does not have access to any physical or virtual resources related to his work responsibilities, with the possible exception of corporate email," it added.
The RBI has further directed the banks to immediately put the arrangements in place and implement the directions without fail.