City of Ottawa pauses return-to-office plan for employees

Ottawa City Hall (File photo)

The city of Ottawa is pausing its plan to bring employees back to the office amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and the spread of the new Omicron variant.

Some of the more than 3,000 employees working from home since March 2020 were beginning to transition back to office work, with more expected to return in January.

But those plans have been put on hold as the new Omicron variant set to take over as the dominant strain of COVID-19 in Ontario.

“Most employees who were working from home continue to do so, while an approach to bringing employees back into office spaces is underway in alignment with public health guidance,” said Valerie Turner, the city’s general manager, innovative client services.

“However, this plan was paused due to concerns about a fourth wave and the Delta variant, and most recently, the Omicron variant.”

About 75 per cent of the city’s 19,500 employees will continue to physically come into the workplace, because their jobs cannot be done remotely.

But for the others who work out of the three main administrative buildings—City Hall, 100 Constellation Drive and Ben Franklin Place—the city is working toward a hybrid work model.

“The City of Ottawa continues to prioritize the health and safety of all employees and remains engaged with Ottawa Public Health on recommended public health guidelines,” Turner said. “Further plans for re-entry will continue to prioritize the health and safety of all employees.”

Ottawa Public Health reported 129 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the most in seven months. And Ontario’s science table said Monday that cases of the new Omicron variant are doubling roughly every three days, and account for nearly a third of new cases in the province.

The city of Toronto has also paused its plan to bring remotely working employees back to the office. 

And the province of Ontario has told tens of thousands of civil servants that they will continue to work remotely until at least February.