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No Foolin’, EY Extends Work From Home to At Least April 2021

Last we checked in on the ongoing work-from-home situation at EY in August, EY Americas vice chair of risk management Jay Persaud told his firm’s beloved army of waffles and pancakes they should expect to stay home until at least January 2021. Not to scare anyone but January 2021 is 21 days from now. It seems someone at EY realized that and extended WFH to April 1, a tipster tells us.

You’ll recall back in May we got our hands on EY’s three-phase plan to head back to the cube farm once the Rona blows over, here it is again in case you missed it.

According to the latest letter sent to US staff from Persaud, eight EY offices are operating in Phase 1. Obviously there was some hope we’d be further along by now but let’s not get into that. Speaking of that letter, here it is as provided to Going Concern:

To US personnel:

We continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic. Optimism towards the vaccine is growing. At the same time, we are experiencing surges across the country as we enter the winter months. On balance, we have a few tough months ahead but the vaccine is the light starting to shine brighter at the end of the tunnel.

In late August, I shared by email that you will not be required to return to an EY office prior to January 2021. In consultation with our advisors and with careful study of the latest developments, we now believe that you will not be required to return to an EY office before April 1, 2021.

If you are currently working in a location outside of your home city, we expect to provide at least 60 days notice prior to any requirement to return to your home city. Along these lines, you may be asked to work at an approved client site to accommodate a client’s needs. You only need to do so if you feel comfortable. Otherwise, you should speak with your supervisor and continue to work from home.

In my August email, I also shared that we would continue to focus on moving our offices to Phase 1 of our return-to-office framework (RTO) where the conditions precedent are met. This is important because some of you expressed a desire to work at an office 1-2 days a week.

During the Fall, we moved 8 EY offices to Phase 1. We are pleased that our safety protocols are operating effectively in these offices. We will continue to look for opportunities to open additional offices. I remind you that even if your office reopens, you are neither expected nor obligated to return to the office. Our available office workspaces are merely an option for people who want to work somewhere other than home. Our default has been and continues to be “work from home.”

I encourage you to review and bookmark our RTO FAQs for the latest information.

Thank you and stay safe.

The latest communication doesn’t change much for EYers in big cities which depend heavily on mass transit, as it was already expected these offices (think metro NYC, Boston, Washington DC, etc.) wouldn’t be considered for Phase 1 until at least January.

Slow and steady, kids, that’s the name of this race.

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