Facing Career Setbacks at SBI: Can I Avoid Paying the Bond If I Resign Now?

Changes in SBI's PO Program

I joined as a Probationary Officer (PO) in SBI in January 2020 and signed a bond of Rs 2 lakh INR for a period of 3 years with a 2-month notice period. However, now after a year, SBI has made some very big changes in the entire training and appraisal structure of the PO program without even considering the opinion of the concerned people. These changes involve reducing the number of people who will be promoted to Scale 2 directly after training to a very negligible number. Also, the training schedule has been changed from 1.5 years SME training to 0.5-year SME + 1 year Rural. If that was not enough, the number of people to be sent for the Capital Markets division for training has been dropped from 10% earlier to a mere 1-2% now.

After all these sudden and drastic changes, I don't see myself growing in this organization, and this is certainly not what I agreed to while signing the bond agreement.

Question on Bond Payment Obligation

I want to ask whether I will still have to pay the bond amount if I resign now after these significant changes made by my employer (SBI), or can I cite the sudden degradation in my future career path as an exemption from paying the bond amount?

Dear member,

The replies to your post are as below:

I joined as a Probationary Officer (PO) in SBI in January 2020 and signed a bond of Rs 2 lakh INR for a period of 3 years with a 2-month notice period. However, now after a year, SBI has made some very big changes in the entire training and appraisal structure of the PO program without even considering the opinion of the concerned people.

Reply: The changes do not involve the conditions of employment. How to conduct employee training and the structure of the appraisal of the PO program is a purely administrative matter. Whether to involve the ground-level staff in the decision-making process is a call of the top management. It is not a compulsion on them.

These changes involve reducing the number of people who will be promoted to Scale 2 directly after training to a very negligible number, and also the training schedule has been changed from 1.5 years SME training to 0.5-year SME + 1 year Rural.

Reply: Companies or government banks can change the promotion criteria and the training schedule or pattern. The employees cannot raise questions against the administrative decision(s). In urban India, there is a saturation of the banks. In contrast, in rural India, private banks are yet to penetrate. Hence, it could be the decision of the banks to penetrate the rural market.

If that was not enough, the number of people to be sent for the Capital Markets division for training has been dropped from 10% earlier to a mere 1-2% now.

Reply: Probably the bank wants to send only the cream to the Capital Markets Division. That could be the reason for the reduction from 10% to 1-2%. You should study hard so that you too can get this coveted post.

After all these sudden and drastic changes, I don't see myself growing in this organization, and this is certainly not what I agreed to while signing the bond agreement.

Reply: Why do you feel that the administrative decisions will hamper the growth of your career? That you would know best. Please improve your competitiveness. The improved competitiveness, in turn, will increase your confidence. If you have joined the bank as an officer now, then you will be in your early twenties. Do you expect the rules and regulations or the administrative process to remain until you retire? What if the bank had decided to change the placement of the staff and had removed you from the envious Capital Market Division? Would you have left the bank at that time?

I want to ask whether I will still have to pay the bond amount if I resign now after these significant changes made by my employer (SBI), or can I cite the sudden degradation made in my future career path as an exemption from paying the bond amount?

Reply: You have signed the bond with the bank out of your volition and not under duress. Therefore, you have to honor the conditions of the legal agreement if you wish to terminate your employment with them from your side. Secondly, there is no evidence of the degradation of your career. It is all a figment of your imagination.

Final Comments: Well, gentleman/gentlewoman, it appears that your mind was conditioned because of the perceived benefits that you were expecting to enjoy lifelong. Now suddenly, your employer has upset the apple cart of your expectations. Hence, your perturbation. However, please note that you are in the 21st century, and the atmosphere that prevails in this century demands an aggressive willingness to compete. Therefore, remove all the negative thoughts from your mind and study hard. If you have cleared the bank PO examination, then it speaks volumes. Clearing a bank PO exam is the manifestation of your higher level of intelligence. Harness your potential and fight back. Aim to be a topper. Strong determination moves even mountains. If you quit your employment, then you will be putting the clock back. This will require you to prove yourself. In that case, why not prove yourself when the direction of the growth is well decided? All that is required is to change the track to keep moving. But is it not safer or easier than laying a new track altogether? The technological changes are happening in the banking sector at a rapid pace, and for the customers, future banking will be humanless. If you prove your worth now, then you could be retained for the higher-level assignments. But to acquire the higher-level positions, one has to reinvent constantly. You may say that the requirement to reinvent yourself has come a little early. But then how does it matter? Once again, I humbly urge you to self-realize yourself. Partially, the credit for your success goes to your parents or the other family members. Your success indirectly speaks of their quality parenting or grooming. Make them proud by being a topper! All the best!

Dinesh Divekar