TfL Bonus scheme “Plainly unfair” – TSSA

TSSA today (Tuesday) condemned Transport for London (TfL)’s “plainly unfair” bonus scheme which will see eyewatering payouts to Directors whilst the lowest paid staff receive nothing.

Staff in TfL’s lowest pay band - Band 1 - have seen wages stagnate since 2016 owing to cost cutting measures brought in after TfL’s operating grant was axed by former London Mayor, Boris Johnson.

This month TfL announced that it was using a £79 million “operating surplus” (profit) to award bonuses to staff in other pay bands. However Band 1 staff will receive nothing because they have been excluded from the company’s “Pay for Performance” scheme.

Expected bonuses for top earners range from 30-50 per cent of salary for TfL Commissioner Andy Lord, whilst Chief Officers could receive up to 30% and Directors 20%. In many cases these bonuses are more than Band 1 staff earn in a year.

TSSA Organising Director Mel Taylor said, “Andy Lord’s already pocketed a £40,000 pay rise this year, just for being made permanent in his post. Now he’s in line for a massive bonus. Meanwhile someone at the bottom of the Band 1 payscale - on the London Living Wage - will get nothing at all. That’s plainly unfair.

“Staff at the top of the payscale in Band 1 haven’t had a proper consolidated pay rise in years, just a lump sum. The real terms value of their salaries has dropped by over 20% in many cases. Finding out that TfL’s highest earners will be pocketing a substantial pay bonus on top of a pay rise for the last two years is just adding insult to injury. 

“Instead of dishing out bonuses to the highest paid, TfL needs to get round the table with us and negotiate fair consolidated pay rises for everyone.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

• Band 1 staff typically work in front line support roles in TfL call centres, Visitor Information Centres and London Transport Museum as well as PAs and administrative and support roles in key areas such as Commercial, Engineering, HR and Finance.
• Band 1 pay scale ranges from £22,500 to £31,750
• Staff at the top of the band no longer receive consolidated pay rises or performance pay, just non-consolidated lump sums. In some cases people have been at the top of the pay band for eight and a half years with no consolidated pay increase in that time.
• Bonuses will be awarded to staff in Bands 2,3,4,5 however TSSA has not been given information on how much has been awarded to them.