This is a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. My request relates to the amount of TFL workers who have contracted coronavirus this year. I would like request information from this time period: 1. January to September 2020. I would like to request the following information, and ask that it be divided by the type of transport the staff worked with (i.e. tube, bus) and borough of London they were situated: 1. How many TFL workers tested positive for coronavirus or recorded a suspected case in each month of the time period? 2. Of those workers, how many are listed as being from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background? 3. How many deaths from confirmed or suspected cases of coronavirus were there among TFL workers, within the time period? Please provide the information in an Excel spreadsheet if possible. If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits, please provide advice and assistance as to how I can refine my request. I look forward to receiving your response within 20 working days. If you need any further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me.

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TfL Ref: FOI-1470-2021

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 29^th October 2020 asking for information about TfL staff who have contracted coronavirus.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.

Specifically you asked:

“I would like request information from this time period:

1. January to September 2020.

I would like to request the following information, and ask that it be divided by the type of transport the staff worked with (i.e. tube, bus) and borough of London they were situated:

1. How many TFL workers tested positive for coronavirus or recorded a suspected case in each month of the time period?
2. Of those workers, how many are listed as being from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background?
3. How many deaths from confirmed or suspected cases of coronavirus were there among TFL workers, within the time period?”

I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. However, we cannot answer questions 1 and 2 as no comprehensive record was kept of absences specifically in connection with cases or suspected cases of Covid-19 over this period. Staff recorded as absent may not have actually contracted the virus themselves or be displaying symptoms, but may have been shielding or self-isolating.

In regards to question 3, sadly 47 of our colleagues have died due to Covid-19. This includes 34 people working for bus companies (30 of which were drivers) who were not directly employed by TfL. The data also includes 4 people who worked for other partner organisations rather than being direct TfL employees. Note that TfL employs in the region of 27,000 staff.

If you are considering submitting a further FOI request please think carefully about whether the request is essential at this current time, as answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. Where requests are made, please note that our response time may be impacted by the current situation.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely,

David Wells

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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