Question for bank employees, please!

stclair

ProudDad wrote: »

For you I would say open the packaged acc take advantage of it being free if you decide to use it is another matter. Mines is only half price :-(, better than nothing I suppose

New staff no longer get the perks of free packaged accounts, however they are subsidised.

System

An other's have suggested there is no harm in taking it and using it as you choose.

I would personally keep personal spending outside the bank.

It certainly used to be the case that bouncing payments or having an unauthorised o/d were potentially disciplinary offences for bank staff.

EarthBoy

ratechaser wrote: »

I just pity some of my poor ex-colleagues in the US from a former employer, who actually require them to open a staff account to have their salary paid into. Wonder if such a policy would even be legal in the UK...

Some UK banks do have this policy. Why wouldn't it be legal?

As others have said, even if you have your salary paid into a staff account, you don't have to use that account for anything else. You can transfer the money straight out into an account at a different bank and use that account instead.

EarthBoy

Heng_Leng wrote: »

It certainly used to be the case that bouncing payments or having an unauthorised o/d were potentially disciplinary offences for bank staff.

I believe it still is. Banks certainly credit check new employees. One of my friends applied for, and was offered, a job at Nationwide. They withdrew the offer after doing a credit check on him and finding a history of bad debts.

stclair

ratechaser wrote: »

Personally I've never had an account with the bank that I've worked with. Not because I'm a tinfoil hat wearing conspiracy theorist, but simply because I was happy enough with my own existing arrangements. Now if any of those banks had offered me a high deposit rate, I'd probably have bitten their hand off!

I just pity some of my poor ex-colleagues in the US from a former employer, who actually require them to open a staff account to have their salary paid into. Wonder if such a policy would even be legal in the UK...

(Now if we were talking about incentivised share schemes for employees, I'd get my tinfoil hat and suggest that you steer well clear, given I lost my shirt on a certain notoriously bankrupt US bank. Oh well...)

This used to RBS stance on the matter until February 2015.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/23/currentaccounts.savings

romanza

Thanks for all your advice and input, guys! I have decided to accept it and have my salary paid into in. I will have my RBS credit card direct debit going out of that account and will leave enough money in the account to accommodate this.

The majority of my money will be transferred to my current Santander account - which I will continue to use as my main account.

As Westie said, best of both worlds!

fira

Yes, thanks stclair, that’s certainly how it used to be. I joined National Commercial Bank of Scotland just before it merged with Royal Bank of Scotland.

It was a condition of employment to have your bank account with your employing bank. In those days staff bank statements were sent on the same day every month to the branch, all cheques debited which were kept at the branch, were gathered up for each statement and then delivered to the manager. He was expected to check all entries on the statements for every member of his branch staff and look at the payees of the cheques. We were always told it was to check if we were finally stretched and if any cheques showed we were paying out to other banks or financial institutions. The worst offence as far as I recall was anticipating your salary. God forbid if the manager found one of your cheques dated a few days before the salary was credited and there had been insufficient funds in the account when it had been written. You’d be shown the door.

I remember when Access cards were launched and again, approval was by the branch manager. Not one of the staff in my office had a successful application. He said they could cause financial difficulties so wasn’t prepared to sanction them.

Romanza I wish you a long and happy career with RBS.

Bill

Mr_Goodkat

Certainly used to be a requirement of working for a RBS owned business that you had to open a RBS Group account to have your salary paid into it.


Never had a problem with it as never feared the bank would be checking up on my spending habits etc and in those days the packaged accounts were provided free of charge to staff members so I took out the RBS Advantage Gold account providing a number of insurances.


I worked within the insurance division rather than banking but was still credit checked at the job offer acceptance stage and severe financial difficulties were possible reasons for disciplinary action within the contract of employment.


I did operate the account as my main one at the time just due to ease but did maintain bank accounts elsewhere and closed it when I moved to employment elsewhere as didn't want to pay the fee.

anoncol

fira wrote: »

Yes, thanks stclair, that’s certainly how it used to be. I joined National Commercial Bank of Scotland just before it merged with Royal Bank of Scotland.

It was a condition of employment to have your bank account with your employing bank. In those days staff bank statements were sent on the same day every month to the branch, all cheques debited which were kept at the branch, were gathered up for each statement and then delivered to the manager. He was expected to check all entries on the statements for every member of his branch staff and look at the payees of the cheques. We were always told it was to check if we were finally stretched and if any cheques showed we were paying out to other banks or financial institutions. The worst offence as far as I recall was anticipating your salary. God forbid if the manager found one of your cheques dated a few days before the salary was credited and there had been insufficient funds in the account when it had been written. You’d be shown the door.

I remember when Access cards were launched and again, approval was by the branch manager. Not one of the staff in my office had a successful application. He said they could cause financial difficulties so wasn’t prepared to sanction them.

Romanza I wish you a long and happy career with RBS.

Bill

Really? That's disgusting. Surely that can't be legal now. What business of your employer is it if you are overdrawn.

jadedagent

Hoping RBS is better than HSBC.

I have a staff account but really considering moving my account away from them. I wouldn't have any shame in asking for my salary to be paid into a different bank account. I might go for Halifax. £100 and a fiver a month - not too shabby.

It also depends on what you are thinking long term. If I were to stay with a bank for most of my career, I would stick with them and use one of their accounts as my main one. I don't think I will be sticking around for long. May as well move my account over to a better bank now.

Good luck with whatever you decide.