As a driver for one of your contracted suppliers with over 9 years continual service, I have so far missed out on benefiting from the Bus driver retention scheme. Could you please advise the formula used for calculating the payment made to Zero Hours Staff that have been continuously employed for a single organisation driving TfL service buses in excess of 3 years. To clarify the request, the information requested is how the payment is calculated for an individual that does not have a fixed number of hours or days per week. i.e confirmation that a driver employed under these circumstances is actually eligible for payment of this retention bonus and secondly advise as to how actual payment is calculated.

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Our ref: FOI-0106-2021/GH

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 23 April 2020 asking for information about the Bus Driver Retention Scheme.

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy.

The scheme is designed for permanent members of staff who get regular contractual payments, whether that be full or part-time. However, as the amount of hours worked a week and the continuity of service may differ significantly for drivers, it is best to discuss the details with your operator. You can do this directly or through a staff representative at the many forums that exist for the staff to raise pay and condition issues at their respective companies.

While we cannot comment on individual cases as we are not the employer, we can say the principles of the scheme entail reduced payments on a pro rata basis for drivers who work less than full-time hours. It may be worth you exploring your operator’s part-time and full-time work definitions and looking at what your average hours may have been over the past three years. If you think there has been an error, it should be possible for your company to resubmit your case and for an adjustment payment to be made.

Please note, the Government has announced a series of measures to tackle the coronavirus. It is essential for London, that we continue to provide a safe transport network for essential journeys.

In current circumstances, we are not able to answer FOI requests readily and we ask that you please do not make a request to us at present.

Answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. In any event, please note that our response time will be affected by the current situation.

If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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