Bank Timings Change: Those who have a bank account should be aware of this. Because there may be changes in bank working hours and timings. Be aware of this from time to time.
Add informalnewz.com as a Preferred Source
Bank Timings Change: Work–life balance is a major topic of discussion in today’s society. Bank employees are also looking for this change. The demand for a 5-day work week for banks has been a long-standing demand from unions. The proposal is now officially before the government.
What is the proposal? – This proposal seeks to declare every Saturday and Sunday as bank holidays. Through this, the banking sector will convert Monday to Friday into working days.
To accommodate weekly working hours, employees’ daily working hours are likely to increase by about 40 minutes from Monday to Friday. However, bank unions have made it clear that there will be no change in the services and timings offered to customers.
The All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC) says the change will boost employee morale, improve productivity and transform the banking sector to suit modern working practices.
What has happened so far? – The idea of a 5-day work week gained momentum in March this year. The Indian Banks Association (IBA) and major bank unions signed a joint note supporting the proposal.
The IBA then sent it to the Government of India for consideration. On 28 July 2025, the Finance Ministry gave a written reply in the Lok Sabha. The government informed the Parliament that the proposal was “under consideration”. Earlier in April 2025, the Ministry had indicated that the 5-day working week was unlikely to be implemented in this financial year (2025–26). Currently, banks are following the policy introduced in August 2015. According to this, the second and fourth Saturdays of every month are holidays. The remaining Saturdays are working days for banks.
Reasons for delay – The government has rejected the argument that the proposal is being delayed due to staff shortage. Public sector banks (PSBs) have to manage their own staffing requirements. As of March 31, 2025, 96% of the required staff positions in PSBs have been filled, it reported. The ministry said that changes in staff strength will not be an obstacle to the approval of the 5-day week.
When will it start? – As of now, there is no agreed timeframe on when the 5-day banking week will start. The proposal is still under consideration. Both the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have to give their final approval. Till then, the current policy of keeping second and fourth Saturdays as holidays will continue. Even if it is decided to implement it, a decision will be taken in the next financial year. That is, the government may take any decision only after April 2026.
