By SEAN POULTER

Last updated at 19:31 23 March 2007

Thousands of bank workers have been warned they face disciplinary action if they fail to take an account with their employer.

The warning has gone out from bosses at the Royal Bank of Scotland, which covers NatWest, Direct Line and Churchill, to some 14,000 employees.

The move by the UK's second largest banking group has angered the Amicus union, which said it was currently seeking legal advice on the matter.

The bank claims the requirement is standard industry procedure and was clearly explained to staff during interviews. However, this has been denied by other leading banks.

A draft copy of the letter written by Gordon Pell, chief executive of retail markets at the bank, asked employees who had not already done so to open an RBS Group bank account.

It warned: "Failure to do so will represent a breach of group policy and I will be obliged to write directly to your line manager asking them to progress this matter to the group's disciplinary policy."

It told employees they should contact the group's internal staff bank YourBank to open an account.

An Amicus spokesman, Alison Maclean, said: "We believe that the employer's approach in this has been heavy-handed and certainly not conducive to good employee relations.

"Our helpline has been jammed with calls from angry staff. If you work for Tesco you won't be disciplined for buying your groceries from Sainsbury."

The union said most of the staff facing disciplinary action came under the RBS banner following the takeovers of Direct Line and Churchill. They were not on contracts that required them to open RBS accounts.

Miss Maclean said: "RBS's disproportionate and heavy-handed approach is counter-productive and bad for morale. We are calling on the bank to reconsider its position."

The bank insisted that staff benefit from opening a current account within the firm. They get access to beneficial rates on mortgages and savings.

It explained that while staff who did not comply the terms of employment would face disciplinary procedures, this did not mean they would lose their jobs.

"Our staff are completely at liberty to run other accounts with other providers if they wish, once the money is theirs they can do what they like with it," a spokesman said.

Lloyds TSB confirmed that it paid employees' salaries into a Lloyds TSB current account.

It said it encouraged all members of staff to get to know their products and be visible advocates of the brand when they open their wallets, however, it added that it did not force staff to open an account with the company.

However, Halifax-Bank of Scotland said it did not require employees to have an account with the bank, although staff accounts are available.

A spokesman said: "We do not force anybody to have an HBOS or Halifax account, they just need a current account. We do have specific accounts for colleagues which may have slightly better rates.

"But the option is entirely theirs, there is no pressure at all."