Royal Bank of Canada and TD Bank Group say most of their staff will work from home until next year to further stop the spread of COVID-19.
RBC chief human resources officer Helena Gottschling says in a memo to bank staff that most employees will work from home until at least 2021.
Gottschling says a very small number of employees in the Greater Toronto Area may return to RBC premises starting in mid to late September, but others will have to continue working from home.
The bank says it will provide those returning to the office at least four weeks’ notice and will be as flexible as possible with workers’ needs.
TD says that staff working from home have also been advised that they will not return to the office before the end of the calendar year.
The move comes after the Bank of Nova Scotia informed head office employees in the General Toronto Area currently working remotely that they can continue to do so until 2021 and after all of the major banks in the city agreed to a May request from mayor John Tory, who asked companies in the area to keep their workers home for the summer.
Universities and other large firms in the city, including Deloitte Canada, EY Canada, KPMG and Rogers Communications Inc., also agreed to keep employees working from home for the summer months.