Credit Suisse postpones US office return for unvaccinated staff

Credit Suisse Group AG has pushed back the date from which it will require all US staff to return to the office to Oct. 18, as the delta variant of Covid-19 continues to spread, according to a memo sent to staff and seen by Bloomberg.
 

A Sept. 7 return-to-office date remains in place for vaccinated workers, with those who have already returned told they should continue to come in, according to the memo which was signed by managers including investment bank division head Christian Meissner, Jay Kim and David Miller who head up trading and investment banking activities respectively. 

Employees that are not yet vaccinated are expected to work remotely until they receive the shot. The memo didn’t specify that employees would be obliged to get vaccinated. 

While in the office, employees are required to wear masks in common areas such as the lobby, gym or cafeteria but can remove them once they’ve reached the floor they work on. 

Earlier this year, the Swiss lender introduced a plan for giving employees “maximum flexibility” when it comes to in-office and remote work options. It is first being rolled out among the roughly-13,000 employees in Switzerland, and to the rest of the approximately 49,000 employees based on local coronavirus guidelines. 

In the US, the implementation of the hybrid work schedule will be resumed after the mid-October return date.

On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. announced to staff that it will require employees to don masks and prove they’ve been vaccinated against Covid-19 to enter the firm’s US workplaces.