Bank Details- Is It Necessary In Joining Formalities.

Hi, I have been selected by one of the companies for the Assistant Manager position. I have provided all the necessary details such as payslips, salary certificates, and other related documents to the HR department. Now, they are asking for my 6-month bank transaction details. I believe they may be delving into my personal matters. HR seniors, please advise me if it is necessary to provide this information or if it is legally required. Thank you.

Regards,
Arun Shetty Kenjoor

Dear Arun,

Congratulations on your new job! Regarding your query, I believe that since you have been offered a senior position as an assistant manager, they may want to inquire about your past experience. Providing them with your bank statement can help verify whether your salary has been credited by the company each month with the same amount you indicated in your salary. I don't think that asking for a bank statement is an issue when it comes to investigating your personal details.

Regards,
Srilatha

Dear Arun,

Good wishes for the new offer. Yes, I agree with Sreelatha. Since you are in HR, you must be aware of the fact that people give fake information. So, companies want to cross-check the information. Fake salary slips can be easily made, so many times companies ask for a bank statement. This is purely a part of the process.

Thanks and Regards,

Anuradha Singh
HR-Team

Both are given the right information. Nothing wrong in asking for a bank statement; this is only for cross-checking that your salary was deposited in the bank and the details given to the new company.

Regards,
Shiva Prasad Shetty
Email: sprasad@tb-india.com

My friends,

I do not agree with this viewpoint. A bank statement not only contains the salary transfer details but also other information that a prospective employer may not need to know or that is unnecessary for them to know. A bank statement is, to a large extent, a personal document. If my information is correct, in the US and Canada, the bank details of a wife or husband can only be known to their better half as per legal procedures.

If someone in HR is concerned about verifying salary claims, there are many other ways to do so. After all, checking one's own bank statement does not necessarily provide the correct information.

Therefore, I feel you can firmly reject the requirement.

All the best,
Sunil

Hi Sunil,

I won't agree with you; the rule could apply in the US and Canada but not in India. Moreover, I can say this is the simplest way through which employee verification can be done. If you don't mind, what personnel matters, apart from the regular transactions, would be involved? What can the company do with that information?

Regards,
Srilatha

Hi Latha,

Good that you have a different viewpoint. I cited the case of US/Canada to highlight the practices that are happening in such advanced countries, where your activities inside the office are being monitored so closely. Above all, we have learned 90% of all these practices from these countries only.

I may have hundreds of dealings with several parties through my account. Take the case of credit cards itself. Do I need to reveal to the company how many cards I have? Or for that matter, do I need to reveal the school fees paid for my children, which are getting debited to my account?

Why do we have to go through all these troubles? If I produce a bank statement showing salary crediting more than my salary slip, will the company give me any benefit? And if I am producing a salary certificate or an appointment letter which you cannot verify with my previous company or so, then definitely I can play with my account statement as well.

Dear Sunil,

I feel unless the company has something to do with the person concerned, the issue cannot be serious :)

Regards, Srilatha

Dear Arun,

You are right to question the request for your past six months' bank statement; it is not required at all. The organization may conduct reference checks and ask for your last pay slip, relieving letter, no dues certificate, etc., but requesting your bank statement is unnecessary. If verifying through bank statements is part of their organizational policy, this should have been done during the reference checks and at the initial stages. Asking for these details now that you have already joined is simply an imprudent move.

Best regards,
Bibhutosh

Dear Arun,

First of all, congratulations on your new job!

Would like to let you know that in professional life, we often face circumstances that may not be explicitly outlined in the rules, but we still need to navigate through them. It is something to be mindful of.

I strongly agree with those who are cautious about such situations because, especially at the beginning of a new job, the first impression you make is crucial. If you respond negatively, it could leave a lasting impact on how you are perceived. While there may be transactions you prefer to keep private, it is not a significant issue. Stay optimistic and move forward!

Best of luck to you!

Regards,
Naziya Ansari

Dear Naziya,

I am basically an HR professional and now transitioning to the general management stream. While I was working as an HR professional, I used to be very upset about the negative comments my colleagues made about the HR department and the humorous anecdotes circulating about HR department activities.

Once I stepped out of the departmental perspective and looked from a different angle, I now understand that the responsibility for the poor image of HR lies 80% with HR professionals alone. We create unnecessary rules and regulations that could otherwise be avoided, ensuring a better quality of life for employees.

Take this scenario, for example. A new employee has concerns, whatever they may be. We have other tools to verify his claims of his last drawn salary. By not insisting on the bank statement, he could be made more comfortable. Still, we all advise him to provide the same. As a new recruit, he might do so to create a good impression, but his impression will be tarnished with the HR department forever.

I agree that HR and admin have to handle a lot of challenging tasks in the organization. However, executing a tough task with minimal negative impact is where our skills should be demonstrated; otherwise, the situation will persist indefinitely.

Sunil

Dear Sunil and Arun,

Arun, congratulations on the new job!

I completely agree with you. However, I am still confused about why a company has implemented a policy or clause in the induction process (or by whatever means) that requires the submission of a bank statement from new recruits. Has anyone questioned the organization about the necessity or the exact purpose of this requirement? I believe that if it is a rule to provide a bank statement, then it would be better for Arun to personally present it in order to verify the salary amount deposited by the previous organization. It is not yet clear whether the HR department is requesting the bank statement for Arun's personal file or for their other records. I recommend that Arun inquire first about the purpose (do not simply accept it as a rule or policy - OBTAIN A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING) and then provide the statement for review and retain a copy. Please inform me of the organization's rationale behind this request.

Shailendra

Dear Arun,

I believe they are requesting your bank statement to verify the correct income earned from your previous employer. I would suggest that you negotiate with them and provide either your salary slip or a salary certificate.

Regards,
Punit.

Dear Arun,

I think you can go ahead and give your bank statement (if what they are asking is a payroll account) as rightly said by Mr. NSN Murthy, 80% of people do not have their personal transactions from the payroll account. So do not worry about it, go ahead, submit the payroll account statement, and get started with your new role/job. All the best.

Julie