ICICI Bank Several former employees of ICICI Bank have approached regional labour authorities, saying their termination was illegal.
Labor offices received many complaints
Regional Labour Offices in Kota, Mumbai, Bikaner, Guwahati, Udaipur, Karnal, Rourkela and Vijayawada have received complaints from several former employees of the bank and have initiated reconciliation proceedings between the bank and these employees. All the complaints are related to illegal termination by ICICI Bank. ICICI Bank has termed it as ‘voluntary abandonment due to non-participation in work’.
A document which states that 782 people were laid off because employees stopped coming to work. When contacted, ICICI Bank has flatly denied any such claim.
The bank says there have been instances where employees – mainly at the entry level – do not complete their formalities properly before leaving their previous organisation to join a new company. This trend is generally seen across the BFSI industry.
Further, ICICI Bank said it is aware of “only one individual” who has approached the labour authority. “We would like to categorically state that there is no adverse order from the CLC/RLC on this matter,” the bank said.
Allegations were made earlier too
One thing is for sure that these are not new allegations against the bank from former employees. Since June last year, the Chief Labour Commissioner has been receiving complaints against the bank and has issued notices for joint discussions.
In a notice dated November 11, 2024, the office of the Chief Labour Commissioner issued a memorandum stating that after discussions with the complainants and the bank, it was found that the management had ‘not substantially complied with the principle of natural justice’.
The management’s action of initiating action to terminate the services of the complainant and others amounts to unfair labour practices’. The CLC (C) also urged the bank management to take any lenient action other than terminating the services of the employees.
