SBI to its employees — No belching during meetings, it’s ‘highly irritating’

Belching, which is considered a sign of satisfied belly in many cultures in India, may not find an acceptable place in SBI meetings

Probably in a first such instance in the public sector banking space, country’s leading lender State Bank of India released a circular to its employees mandating a dress code, grooming tips, and social etiquette tips.

The circular, released on Saturday and reviewed by Moneycontrol, says, “In order to ensure that an acceptable level of decorum in the workplace is maintained, all employees should adhere to a model dress code.”

Male employees, besides those who have been issued uniforms, have been asked to dress in smart formals and female employees have been advised to come in formal Indian or western dresses.

The circular provides separate dress codes for senior administrative staff and other administrative or branch level staff. However, the code for both is largely the same.

The largest national bank has asked its employees to avoid "unkempt look" and “practice adequate personal hygiene” in order to keep bad breath and body odour away.

The guidelines also bar the employees from wearing jeans or T-shirts. “Shorts, three-fourths i.e. trousers other than full-length trousers, T-shirts, jeans and sneakers/sports shoes etc. should not be part of attire,” the circular states.

The three-page circular makes multiple points advising SBI employees to adhere to a prescribed dress and hygiene code.  

In the grooming tips section, the circular outlines suggestions like same colour of belts and shoes, plain ties on check shirt and printed ties on solid colour shirts, among others.

The circular also asks bank’s employees to “avoid belching when in a meeting or among others,” terming it “highly irritating”. Slipping into a common language in a formal meeting is considered unprofessional, the circular adds.

The communique undersigned Deputy MD of Human Resource of the bank advises the employees to follow the guidelines in order to work towards “enhancing the image of the bank.”