[TSI47]

Hello Bhpians

I’m writing this post with a lot of hope, seeking advice from this wise and supportive community on an issue that’s been deeply affecting both me and my wife. This may be a bit long, so I truly appreciate your patience.

I work in the private sector, and my wife is an Assistant Manager with one of the banks which was initially a PSU now is partially owned by government (not mentioning the name just know that it is currently undergoing the process of full privatization). We got married in January 2023, and like most newlyweds, we hoped that her bank would transfer her to my location (Delhi NCR) soon after.

Back in February 2023, the transfer portal opened, and she applied for a request transfer from her zone in Assam to Delhi NCR. Her application was duly approved at the branch, regional, and zonal HR levels before reaching the national HR team. Unfortunately, it was not processed, citing a policy that requires officers to complete 5 years in service before being eligible for request transfers. Despite applying under the "marriage grounds" category, her case wasn’t considered. We accepted the setback and decided to wait for the 2024 transfer cycle.

When the portal reopened in February 2024, the system was modified to automatically restrict officers with less than 5 years of service from applying. Disappointed, we still stayed patient. My wife continued writing to HR, explaining our situation—especially how I live with my elderly father and manage everything alone.

Then came a glimmer of hope. In January 2025, the bank updated its circular, changing the eligibility criteria: now, officers with 3 years in the same zone could apply for transfers. We were thrilled. When the portal opened in February, a technical glitch initially blocked applications from officers with less than 5 years of experience, but this was eventually fixed, and her request was successfully submitted with all necessary approvals.

However, just recently, we learned that the bank is again not considering transfers for officers with less than 4–5 years of experience and has sent transfer orders of other AMs leaving her entire batch. This has left us completely disheartened. We also know of several instances where employees in other grades—Managers, AGMs, etc.—have been transferred even when their cases don’t strictly meet the criteria. Some are refusing transfers and are being retained in their current branches without issue.

Over this period, my wife has sent more than 50 emails to the HR team. Only one got a response, back in 2023. Two internal grievances were raised, but both received standard replies stating that requests should be submitted during the annual portal opening and would be "considered."

My wife has been working in the same branch for over 6.8 years now, of which nearly 4 years have been as a confirmed officer. She joined the bank through the executive entrance and has always been sincere and dedicated in her role.

We’re at a point where we don’t know what more to do. She doesn’t want to quit, and I cannot move to her location because of limited job opportunities there. This has stalled our personal lives—we haven’t even begun planning a family because of the uncertainty and distance.

We would deeply appreciate any guidance or suggestions from those who’ve faced similar situations or know the right channels to approach.

I understand this is a bit deviated from the forum's conversations but could not stop myself to post given the wisdom this platform holds.

[HIGHWAY_PATROL]

Haven't you both considered the option of your wife seeking a job in another bank in your location. If the situation is favourable , she might land in a job with a better pay and a senior position.
Good luck to you both.

[TSI47]

Originally Posted by HIGHWAY_PATROL

Haven't you both considered the option of your wife seeking a job in another bank in your location. If the situation is favourable , she might land in a job with a better pay and a senior position.
Good luck to you both.

We have explored other options, and she’s actively trying as well. However, opportunities matching her profile are quite limited. On top of that, most private sector banks offer significantly lower compensation than what she currently earns. That said, if the right opportunity comes along under favorable conditions, it's still on the table. But it’s disheartening to even consider leaving—especially after all the hard work she put into clearing the entrance exams and building her career here. Walking away because of systemic issues and inconsistent policies just feels unfair.

[NomadSK]

Unfortunately, in government sector getting transferred is a huge "money minting business" from top down. Saying it with tongue in cheek, try to find the right chords to pull.

[Fuldagap]

Have you tried emailing and calling GM HR directly. I was in the same organisation and when I was leaving, I needed some sort of HR assistance. Owing to no response I dialled GM HR's number, spoke with him and then wrote an email. He helped quite a lot and I exited smoothly in the given time frame. Without his help I'd not have managed to join the next organisation on time and might have lost the job too.
I had kept ED HR in cc.

Don't leave the organisation as it is a great one. Just 1 year in the job I got an opportunity at a German bank operating in India and the pay and designation offered were much better. I still did not leave.
This privatisation may or may not take long. God knows. The ethos would however, remain intact, unless the top management just goes berserk one day, which seems improbable.

If you are comfortable, you may try ICICI for switching. HR policy has been overhauled sometime back. Before too it was an ok bank to work for even compared to your current bank. But now it is a bit better, compared to other private banks. If your wife's profile is in retail banking (be it liability or asset or operations) I'd suggest waiting and fighting internally for the transfer. If the profile is say AML, Treasury or something special then there is no dearth of good opportunities too in other organisations.

I'm not sure about current scenarios but a lot of exams used to happen before for PSBs for positions above AM. You need to have a certain years of experience in a PSB, including the one your wife is in, and one could jump scales/grades in a short span of time subject to successful clearance of test and interview. Canara bank used to come up with a lot of such vacancies year on year and a lot of officers from various PSBs boosted their respective careers.

With the current govt, such exams might not be happening, I'm confident but definitely not sure.
There are other tbhp members here from the same bank curently working there. I can point you to them if if you wish to.

External influence from even a chief minister won't work in your organisation, so no point in thinking on those lines. It may even backfire. Mentioning this as we Indians generally try or atleast think to try this route.

A cordial phone call with the GM would not only not backfire but would be helpful and decisive. He might even tell you that nothing is possible but your wife needs to make that phone call to come to a logical conclusion. Sometimes the GM's staff might be needed to be bypassed before he directly speaks over the phone. RH won't be able to help as it is not in his delegation of power and not his role to assist much in HR matters.

Other banks have unions, your wife's bank doesn't, otherwise she could have sought help from the respective union. If there exists a union now, you may get in touch with it as well.

Lastly, try to read the master circular and subsequent circulars carefully once more to find any advantageous rules before speaking with the GM.

[TSI47]

Originally Posted by NomadSK

Saying it with tongue in cheek, try to find the right chords to pull.

That is what we are totally clueless about. Not sure of whose door to knock. We trusted the process.

Originally Posted by Fuldagap

Other banks have unions, your wife's bank doesn't, otherwise she could have sought help from the respective union. If there exists a uniin now, you may get in touch with it as well.

Lastly, try to read the master circular and subsequent circulars carefully once more to find any advantageous rules before speaking with the GM.

Thank you for taking the time to share such a detailed and thoughtful response. She did try reaching out to the GM HR last year, but unfortunately, her calls went unanswered. GM HR was also part of the email communication chain throughout, but there was no response from their end.

Since then, the GM HR has changed, and as per your suggestion, she will try connecting with the new person.

Yes, the union is active at the moment—we’ll reach out to them as well and hope that helps move things forward.

Also, if there are any members here from the same bank, it would be incredibly helpful to hear your thoughts or experiences regarding this issue.

[petrogeek]

Unfortunately, you seem to be relying too much on the HR portal. Spend some money get down to where ever your HR head is located and get it sorted personally if you are really that desperate. Im also assuming that your spouse's performance is upto standard. If relocation is critical, take the pay cut and join another outfit. Sometimes you cant have everything in life, one has to make sacrifices.

[argho]

A bit of a different view.

I have worked in Banking Ops all my life (30+ years), although in foreign banks.

When I started my career in the 90s, there was a prevalent practice that women would get transfers to the location of their preference, if they got married.

Even at that time, there was some unhappiness about this preferential treatment. Especially from men. Salaries are the same, so why this preferential treatment - was the view.

I am not advocating for / against this. All I am saying is, that times have changed.

In my view you have 3 options (now that transfer has not worked) :

1. Your wife can choose to stay on in Assam, until eventually she becomes eligible and can ask for a transfer. No guarantee that even then, she will get it.

2. She can quit, move to NCR and look for a job in the private sector. There are many GCCs of foreign banks who would value banking experience.

3. You can move to Assam and find a job (just putting it out there - it need not always be the lady who has to move).

You and your wife need to discuss, and decide what works best for the both of you.

[Santy19]

Well my POV is a bit critical and unwarranted but your spouse being in the same AM scale for past 6.8 years is a red flag for me, usually it takes 1-2yrs post probation to move up a scale.

This for me indicates that your wife is deliberately ignored, and politics is part of banks we cant help it, banks being such a huge organisation they always have someone want to move out of their current circle and move somewhere else, it shouldn’t have taken this long, especially for a female to get transferred.

My 2 cents would be to take up scale 2 exams for credit officer, lending operations or whichever she deems fit, 6.8yrs is enough of a experience for these roles and now the current openings for these are getting notified under SO cadre there is a high chance she gets posted in metros only and new organisation might/will post her in her desired location post training.

I will also suggest her to write IBPS SO/SBI SO exams if she meets eligibility criteria, her QRE would be on point for these exams and PK can be acquired before the exam, most bank SO officers are posted in Mumbai/Hyderabad. This would be easier location for you to find a job of your liking and SO is far less hectic than branch based roles.

If she feels job switch/exam hustle is not for her, get the GM involved, not sure about her but for us who work in Zonal offices its as accessible as taking stairs to his cabin and knocking on to his door, A mail with GM in CC and a short reply from him to address your issue will solve all your problems or atleast get a proper reply.

Im scale 2 officer and i’m pushing for a skip promotion whenever im eligible and making sure im heard by my manager and AGMs in all our informal meetings, im not sure about scenarios in her organisation but this is what I would have done if i were in her situation

[kvsneela]

While we cannot give advice to these type of problems other than what is mentioned by argho, transfers normally in private sectors are different than PUCs. Recently my nephew who was working in Chennai got married to a girl working in Bangalore. Since she doesn't have office in Chennai ,He got transferred to Bangalore on marriage ground. But the advantage here was he is WFH guy mostly and it doesn't make much difference. But banks are not like that.

Regarding transfer I will give my story ( after which one might feel not alone). I got married in 1992 when I was in Kolkata and wife was not working. Here she attended an interview for a Govt job and forgotten about that. In 1995 I got a job in a PUC iand moved to Mumbai and then wife went for delivery to Trichy. Meanwhile I got her appointment order for the old Govt interview with place of posting at Ranchi. She was hesitant first but I adviced her that without trying we should not reject that offer. So she joined at Ranchi office with 3 months old baby and stayed there for nearly 2 years
Meanwhile I tried to get transfer to Ranchi ( we had a different division) but didnot succeed. So waited for her transfer which became difficult due to the fact Kolkata and Mumbai were in different zones in her office. Finally one day got an offer for mutual transfer from a girl working at Ahmedabad (she was a native of Ranchi) which was duely applied. But nothing happened . After sometime both them met at a training in Delhi HQ and enquired about their transfer and foundout the their applications were blocked at zone level itself. So both met the concerned officer at HQ and explained the situation. He asked for fresh mutual applications there itself and gave the transfer order immediately in hand. So wife reached Ahmedabad and after 6 months transferred to Mumbai ( as it was within zone) .

We were in Mumbai for about 12 years and then I got promotion to Bokaro. Again wife's transfer adventure started. As we were away from our native state TN for long time now , she applied for South and got Bangalore ( through some personel and union intervention). I joined them after 2 years at Bokaro. Then for my son's studies she had to ask for Chennai which both applied and got.
And not a single Rupee was paid for getting these transfers.

What I have observed in transfer matters :

1. Private companies are more considerate than PUC or Govt offices which are run by policies rather personalities .

2. Working sincerely and with dedication don't have any connection with transfers ( may be in promotion) rather it may be bad for getting transfers as nobody will like to lose a sincere employee.

3. Most of the times a personel visit to the concerned office / officer might help. Simply applying online and expecting things to fall in places might not happen.

4. Only between Govt offices or between Govt and PUC offices spouse transfer is considered as a policy ( I think it is mentioned in Swamy's handbook ).

5. Since she is in Executive level ,even if she gets NCR which might not be permanent. But if the bank is completely privatised situation might be different.

Best wishes for the family to be together soon...

[Utopian]

I agree with what petrogeek is saying. In India across spheres, a conversation/meeting has to open before and after you take an action on the portal. Relying solely on the hope that somebody will take the required action may not work. It would also be important for OP's wife to utilise the branch manager/her superior in this quest. If she has his/her confidence there would definitely be some help in jumping the hoops. Also, let her be open to network and utilise her earned goodwill to make this happen.

Wish you and your wife the best for this to happen.

[Fuldagap]

Originally Posted by Santy19

Well my POV is a bit critical and unwarranted but your spouse being in the same AM scale for past 6.8 years is a red flag for me, usually it takes 1-2yrs post probation to move up a scale.

She joined as an Executive. Worked for a couple of years. Then became an officer. She must be due for the promotion to Manager anytime now.

Once an officer in such a type of bank, one needs to have stomach for all India postings.
Even if she successfully gets a favorable posting now, it will keep on happening all throughout her career, especially as she rises in ranks. Not only locations are rotated, public sector bankers get new verticals periodically. By the time one reaches senior management, a public sector bank employee becomes a thorough banker, hard to be matched by a private sector banker, who generally just specialise in insurance sales.

[TSI47]

Originally Posted by petrogeek

Unfortunately, you seem to be relying too much on the HR portal. Spend some money get down to where ever your HR head is located and get it sorted personally if you are really that desperate.

We actually tried different ways one was the standard process through the portal and in parallel continuous mails were sent to the HR team consisting of the required HODs as well. Agree to your suggestion of going down to the place the entire HR is located and meeting personally. Will work on this.

Originally Posted by argho

1. Your wife can choose to stay on in Assam, until eventually she becomes eligible and can ask for a transfer. No guarantee that even then, she will get it.

2. She can quit, move to NCR and look for a job in the private sector. There are many GCCs of foreign banks who would value banking experience.

3. You can move to Assam and find a job (just putting it out there - it need not always be the lady who has to move).

You and your wife need to discuss, and decide what works best for the both of you.

1. As per the policy she's eligible and still not getting the transfer, that is the main grievance
2. We are actively looking for roles here, just that till now she has not got any role with desired pay and designation
3. There are very little opportunities where she's located, have got no success in that segment. Also, as I mentioned I live with my elderly father who's dependent on me and he'll not be able to relocate. However I agree with your point and it's never like only the lady has to relocate.

Originally Posted by Santy19

Well my POV is a bit critical and unwarranted but your spouse being in the same AM scale for past 6.8 years is a red flag for me, usually it takes 1-2yrs post probation to move up a scale.

As I mentioned that she joined as an Executive though the executive entrance exam, after the tenure of 3 yrs she got confirmed as an officer. The 3 year period was a contractual period in her bank. So as an officer she has completed 3.8 yrs till now which is after her confirmation. Her eligibility to apply for promotions starts from this year because the minimum tenure required for promotions is 4yrs.
On the communication part, all the escalation mails did have GMs marked on them, even the internal grievances which were filed were routed to heads. But still here we are with no luck.

Originally Posted by kvsneela

1. Private companies are more considerate than PUC or Govt offices which are run by policies rather personalities .

2. Working sincerely and with dedication don't have any connection with transfers ( may be in promotion) rather it may be bad for getting transfers as nobody will like to lose a sincere employee.

3. Most of the times a personel visit to the concerned office / officer might help. Simply applying online and expecting things to fall in places might not happen.

4. Only between Govt offices or between Govt and PUC offices spouse transfer is considered as a policy ( I think it is mentioned in Swamy's handbook ).

5. Since she is in Executive level ,even if she gets NCR which might not be permanent. But if the bank is completely privatised situation might be different.

Best wishes for the family to be together soon...

That is quite a struggle that you have also faced. I agree with all the pointers which you have mentioned.
As petrogeek and you have suggested, we will plan to have a visit to the head office to discuss the matter personally with the HR team. I seriously hope that helps.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I agree with what petrogeek is saying. In India across spheres, a conversation/meeting has to open before and after you take an action on the portal. Relying solely on the hope that somebody will take the required action may not work. It would also be important for OP's wife to utilise the branch manager/her superior in this quest. If she has his/her confidence there would definitely be some help in jumping the hoops. Also, let her be open to network and utilise her earned goodwill to make this happen.

Wish you and your wife the best for this to happen.

Apparently everything depends on the decision by the National HR team only because everything was approved by the zonal team. They have no issues with her transfer. However still she has discussed with the heads of her zone and asked for their support. Hope that works out.

I am so grateful to entire Tbhp community and thank you all for taking your time out to read the entire thing and sending your valuable inputs.

[Apex1815]

The underlying problem is slightly different. Both of you are located in Two extremes places of the country and have not really got much time to live together since your marriage which happened in 2023.

The sole purpose of marriage is to live together. It is understood that a lot of hard work goes in the preparation of competitive exams and cracking the PSU jobs, but the key to a stronger marital bond also depends upon the initial years of marriage where staying together is important.

If nothing works out, your spouse can see a job in Delhi in any other bank or similar role in any other sector.

[gupta_chd]

Originally Posted by NomadSK

Unfortunately, in government sector getting transferred is a huge "money minting business" from top down. Saying it with tongue in cheek, try to find the right chords to pull.

I cannot definitely say about the particular bank but being in big PSB for around one and half decades in multiple positions and places, I can assure that money minting is not part of transfers in PSBs. They are totally different from govt departments in this aspect. Although, acquaintances and approaches in higher circles and unions are lot helpful but money business is almost non-existent.

It might be an OT, but I thought it is necessary to clear unnecessary air.