How many times did TfL staff call in sick every month since 2010? How did this impact Tube service? Did it lead to delays and cancellations?

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Our ref: FOI-1087-1718/GH

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 7 August 2017, which you clarified on 13 August, asking for information about staff sickness.

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold some of the information you require.

Our 18,300 operational staff, which includes a growing number of Tube drivers, currently have an attendance rate of over 95 per cent. The increase in Tube driver numbers is a result of our capacity enhancements which includes us running more trains than ever before, as well as, more recently, the introduction of Night Tube services.

Our in-house Occupational Health team provide a wide range of health services for all staff – in London Underground, Surface, Rail and Corporate. Information, advice and a number of initiatives are in place to help our staff look after their health and wellbeing and keep them at work wherever possible, including:

• In addition, we run a number of Health workshops throughout the year at multiple locations and depots for staff to attend where they can have blood pressure, cholesterol, BMI and more measured. Staff are also able to consult with a nurse, counsellor, nutritional and wellbeing advisor and personal trainer to maintain both physical and mental health

   

• Physiotherapy and low back pain clinics

   

• Advice to help staff prevent medical conditions associated with shift work

   

• Counselling and trauma services

   

• Female and male specific health management

   

• Cancer awareness

   

• Stop smoking support

   

• Extensive advice and guidance via our staff intranet pages aimed at encouraging a healthy lifestyle, including monitoring and managing chronic conditions

I'm interested in a breakdown of staff sickness for operational staff on London Underground?

Please see the table below, showing the total sickness days since 2010. LU Operations consists of everyone under the Managing Director of London Underground. It is not possible to split this out between people who work in customer facing roles and those who do not.

Sickness days Jan 2010 - August 2017 - LU Operations
Year	Working Days	Total Sickness Days	Long-Term Days	Short-Term Days
2010	2,967,531	122,359	55,127	67,232
2011	2,560,727	105,197	50,923	54,274
2012	2,538,972	106,503	51,173	55,330
2013	2,582,989	114,335	57,943	56,392
2014	2,551,687	123,342	64,687	58,655
2015	2,561,750	128,863	70,043	58,820
2016	1,557,357	88,544	49,670	38,874
2017	777,120	42,314	24,315	17,999

Short term sick is classified as a period of less than 28 calendar days absent (approximately 20 working days)

Long term sick is classified as a period of 28 days calendar days or more

Also, can I have figures for how many times Tube drivers called in sick every month since 2010?

This information, for the period January 2010 – July 2016, has previously been provided to you. I attach a copy of our response to this previous FOI request for your information.

Please see the table below showing the number of days absent through sickness each month for the period August 2016 – August 2017. As previously advised, it is not possible to calculate the number of times a train operator calls in sick.

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December
2016								6,287	6,038	6,156	5,993	6,441
2017	6,884	5,500	5,816	5,394	5,383	5,484	5,791	4,680

In your request of 7 August 2017, you also asked:

How did this impact Tube service? Did it lead to delays and cancellations?

This information is not held. The delay or cancellation of a service, or the decision to temporarily close a station is usually due to the cumulative impact of a number of reasons across the line rather than the absence of a single member of staff. Although we build capacity into driver and station staff rosters in order to provide adequate sickness and absence cover, regrettably circumstances sometimes arise which result in delays or temporary station closures.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

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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