The banking sector is seeing rising risks for staff as branch operations shrink and customer contact shifts toward digital channels. Reductions in the number of offices, shorter cash handling windows, and higher commissions have increased discomfort for many customers and spurred more tense environments. This tension grew especially during the epidemic, when many measures were accelerated and staff faced changes in routine across the industry.
Unions report increasing incidents of shouting, verbal abuse, threats, and even physical attacks. Some employees have stated that they have to come into work together to ensure safety, while fear remains a constant presence. In response, organizations began taking action. In Sabadell, the personnel department is drafting a formal protocol to address what the bank calls external attacks and to reinforce security for its workforce. This initiative was publicly discussed at the latest shareholders’ meeting by the bank’s CEO, César González-Bueno.
The business council in Alicante notes that there is a shift in how customers interact with the bank. Some customers do not adapt well to being directed toward ATMs or online services, preferring the traditional branch experience. Reactions vary widely, with some customers standing their ground in branches and others reporting that screens, misbehavior, or even spitting occurs.
Banco Sabadell’s headquarters in Alicante is a focal point for this discussion.
Information from Sabadell staff representatives shows that last year there were six reported injuries, 76 serious threats, and 221 incidents of conflict, ranging from insults to objects being thrown. Unions argue that these figures represent only a portion of the broader situation affecting the entire industry and are echoed by concerns raised in other sectors, including healthcare and education.
Alicante became the third province with the most physical attacks on medical personnel.
Sabadell’s management has stated that action was necessary. The unions agreed to develop a protocol with three pillars: prevention, management, and employee escort.
risk offices
On prevention, the occupational health department has already assessed branches to identify those that could be more contentious. It has identified smaller branches and offices with predominantly female staff as higher risk, along with days when tensions tend to spike. Typically, these days coincide with retirement payments or periods of high cash handling when queues lengthen and interactions become more fraught. Changes in product conditions also tend to generate more incidents.
Among the proposed measures, security personnel would be assigned to high-risk branches, or all offices would have mixed staff to improve resilience.
A Sabadell office photo captioned for staff coverage is included for reference.
From a managerial perspective, the bank would include this scenario in its safety protocols, introducing a panic button for employees to alert others to problems such as robberies. Procedures will be simplified to report these incidents swiftly.
Complaint
In terms of support, the company has begun offering emotional and legal aid to workers affected by physical or verbal abuse. An important shift, according to unions and management, is that the bank itself will take on notification duties, reporting cases directly to the police without requiring employees to file reports themselves.
The protocol also guides the termination of relationships with customers who provoke quarrels whenever possible. Education on how to face and manage such situations is emphasized.
Sabadell’s Occupational Health department has submitted the initial draft of this protocol to staff representatives and is awaiting feedback from unions. The goal is to integrate the protocol into the occupational health plan as a formal occupational risk.