Toronto, November 26: The current modus operandi of work-from-home, also referred to as WFH, may continue till March 2021 in Canada. Most banks based in the North American nation have directed their employees to not to return at the offices till "spring" next year -- which would mark the culmination of an entire year since the COVID-19 outbreak was declared as pandemic.

The Toronto-Dominion Bank, in a memo issued to its employees, said the workplaces would remain closed for most of them till at least the spring. Similar circulars were issued by rivals Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, asking their workforce to remain prepared to work from home till April next year. Toronto Imposes 4-Week Lockdown as COVID-19 Cases Surge in Canada's Most Populated City.

“A return to TD locations at scale (is) not likely until at least the spring,” the executive vice president for human resources was reported as saying in the memo issued to employees of Toronto-Dominion Bank. The lender is the second-largest of Canada.

In a November 12 memo circulated among employees by the Royal Bank of Canada, the country's largest lender, it was stated that employees who had returned to work at offices must stop at the earliest. It asked the workforce to once again switch to work from home mode, in view of the COVID-19 second wave.

Bank of Nova Scotia, another leading lender centred in Toronto, has refrained from issuing a rough time frame for reopening of offices. It has, however, asked its employees to continue working from home till further order. At least four weeks of prior notice will be issued before calling them back to the official workplaces.

The Ontario government, on Monday, announced a four-week lockdown in Toronto amid the surge in COVID-19 cases. The restrictions, that would be lifted ahead of the Christmas Holiday season, witness the closure of all non-essential shops and service providers.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 26, 2020 11:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).