The issue of lunch break in public sector banks needs to be addressed. The recent incident in the State Bank of India has highlighted this issue again.
According to reports, a customer visited an SBI branch and created chaos. He became upset because his work was not completed. The customer claimed that he had visited the branch multiple times. During lunch hours, he argued that the bank should have arranged another employee to handle customers while the concerned staff member was on a break.
What made the situation more shocking was that the customer reportedly went upstairs to the area where employees, including females, were having their lunch and created a disturbance. Such behavior is not acceptable and shows a lack of respect for bank staff.
People expect one bank employee to handle 200 customers a day. Is that realistic? Banks across the country are facing severe staff shortages, and the public needs to understand the pressure under which employees work. Lunch breaks are a basic necessity in every office—government… pic.twitter.com/GJswtB4aJS
Advertisement— Hellobanker (@Hellobanker_in) June 19, 2026
Now, the All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) has written a letter to the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) seeking a review of the system of continuous banking services without a fixed lunch break for branch employees.
As per RBI guidelines, all bank staff should not eat lunch simultaneously. If there are 2 staff in the branch, then as per RBI guidelines, 1 staff member should do lunch, and the other should provide service to customers. But this is practically impossible, and this guideline has a big flaw. Banks have a 4-eye concept. This means that for every single work, 2 employees are required. If cash needs to be withdrawn, then one employee will enter the voucher and another employee will verify the voucher. If RTGS is to be done, then also one employee will enter the details and another employee will verify.
So, if one employee does lunch and the other provides customer service, then the customer will also have to wait for the first employee to return from lunch. So, it’s practically better that both employees should eat lunch simultaneously.
All the government departments in India have proper fixed lunch timings. Even in the private sector companies, employees have fixed lunch timings, but the same has not been implemented in banks.
In a letter dated June 20, 2026, AIBEA General Secretary C.H. Venkatachalam said that many banks have adopted a system where customer services continue throughout banking hours without any lunch recess. Under this arrangement, branch staff are expected to take their lunch break in a staggered manner so that customer service is not interrupted.
AIBEA stated that it fully supports providing the best possible service to customers. However, the association said it has been receiving repeated complaints from its unions and bank employees that many staff members are often unable to take their lunch break at all.
According to the association, the problem is more serious in branches with limited staff strength, such as branches having only one Customer Service Associate (CSA) or one cashier. In such cases, employees find it difficult to leave their counters for lunch because customer service has to continue without interruption.
The association also pointed out that when employees go for lunch, customers often become upset and question why the staff member is not available at the counter. In many branches, there is no separate lunch room, forcing employees to eat at their desks or counters. Even while having lunch at their workstations, staff members reportedly face complaints or criticism from customers.
AIBEA said bank employees come to work to earn their livelihood and should not have to face abuse or unpleasant behaviour from customers while taking their lunch break. The association described such situations as completely unacceptable.
The letter further highlighted that various State Shops and Establishments Acts require employers to provide a lunch or rest break after a specified period of continuous work, generally after four hours. AIBEA argued that denying employees a proper lunch recess in the name of uninterrupted customer service is not appropriate.
The association has therefore urged banks to review the practice of continuous banking hours without fixed lunch breaks and requested the intervention of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) to address the issue.
