Handling Staff Misconduct: How Should I Address a Loan Dispute Involving a Team Member?

I'm working for a private bank in the capacity of Branch Head. Last week, I received a complaint from a customer of our bank claiming that one of our team members borrowed Rs 50,000/- from him and failed to repay it. In my initial investigation, the staff member accepted that. Subsequently, he is arguing that he did not borrow the money; the brother of the staff member only borrowed that money. Later, the complainant also agreed that he had lent the money to the brother. What action can I take against the staff member?

Thank you.

There is no clause for taking action against money lending. If your employee has received a bribe, yes, you can take action. Here, the money has been given by one of your customers who is considered a third party, and they can't claim through the official network. Borrowing is common, and it's up to them to settle it on their own. As you are aware of the bank rules for opting for a loan and how recovery is carried out within the norms.

So, what you can do in this case is ask your employee to pay it back promptly and settle it amicably.

This is a very interesting scenario. The money was borrowed by the brother of a staff member from your branch. It was not borrowed by a staff member. However, it is likely that the brother came in touch with the customer through the staff member and that the request was sent by the staff member to the customer. If he has done so, or if he has used any incitement, offer of additional service, or illegal gratification to convince the customer to give the loan, then he is open to action from your side. In fact, he may be liable to criminal prosecution if any of the above involves cheating/misrepresentation to the client.

Review Standing Orders and Employment Terms

You need to check your standing orders, terms of employment, and documents signed by the employee when he joined. There will probably be some rules against this. You should immediately take up the matter with the HR department and with your vigilance department. They may want him suspended pending inquiry and settlement of the matter as it is a sensitive subject.

Escalate to Senior Management

Further, given that this involves customer goodwill and trust, you need to escalate this upwards to your operations head/zonal head and take action based on their recommendation.

Personally, I would like such an employee removed from my organization as he cannot be trusted. In a bank, all employment is on "Uberrima Fides," which means of utmost good faith. You cannot have an employee who is involved in any subterfuge as he may indulge in fraud using the bank's name/property or his position in the bank.

Regards.

I also echo Mr. Banerjee's view. On the other hand, we also need to check whether the staff has taken a bribe in the name of a loan for which he may not be willing to pay. Check the credentials of the staff and also determine whether any favors have been received by the customer from the bank to ascertain further.