TfL Ref: FOI-2347-2425
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 22nd October 2024, detailed below.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. Your questions are answered in turn below. Please note, only requests for specific, recorded information fall under the provisions of the FOI Act, whereas some of your questions are asking for explanation. In liaison with our HR team we have nonetheless endeavoured to provide answers to all such questions:
Question 1: Would a TFL employee who perpetrated or facilitated assault and/or battery against another employee at TFL be guilty of gross misconduct?
Answer: On the face of it, yes. However, before confirming the charge of gross misconduct, a full, fair and thorough investigation would need to be conducted into the matter, to ascertain all the facts.
Question 2: Is employee assault of another employee a serious breach of TFL policies and procedures?
Answer: To ascertain the whether a breach has occurred and the extent, a full, fair and thorough investigation would need to be conducted into the matter/incident.
Question 3: What are the sanctions against an employee who was found to be guilty of assault and/or battery against another employee?
Answer: Depending on the facts of the case and mitigation provided, the range of sanctions that can be applied are contained in Section 8.8 (8.8.1 to 8.8.4) of the TfL Discipline at Work Policy and Procedure (see attached).
Question 4: What formal process does TFL follow to investigate and respond to an employee assault allegation?
Answer: If it is to do with an employee assaulting a fellow employee in the workplace, then it will be the Discipline at Work Policy and Procedure.
Question 5: What are the steps taken to ensure a fair investigation into allegations of assault or misconduct?
Answer: As with any other serious incident, the procedure for a fair investigation is laid out in Section 8 (8.1 to 8.3.4) of the Discipline at Work Policy and Procedure.
Question 6: If the TFL finds evidence supporting the allegations, what action would TFL initiate?
Answer: This is contained in Section 8.4 (8.4.3) of the Discipline at Work Policy and Procedure.
Question 7: If an employee is found to have falsified or misrepresented the facts surrounding the incident in an attempt to cover up the assault and avoid detection, what action would TFL take in these circumstances?
Answer: This is contained in Section 8.4 (8.4.3) of the Discipline at Work Policy and Procedure.
Question 8: Is dishonesty of this nature considered an act of gross misconduct at TFL?
Answer: Yes. However, before confirming the charge of gross misconduct, a full, fair and thorough investigation would need to be conducted into the matter, to ascertain all the facts.
Question 9: Please provide a copy of TFL’s policy regarding gross misconduct, specifically referencing how instances of assault and battery between employees are handled.
Answer: Please see attached Discipline at Work Policy and Procedure – Section 3.
Question 10: How does the policy differentiate between gross misconduct and other forms of misconduct?
Answer: Please see attached Discipline at Work Policy and Procedure – Section 3.
Question 11: How often are employees suspended pending investigation when serious allegations, such as assault or gross misconduct, are made?
Answer: This is covered in Section 8.3.3 of the Discipline at Work Policy and Procedure.
Question 12: Is there a standard timeframe within which an investigation must be completed once allegations of gross misconduct are made?
Answer: It is expected that the investigation will be conducted in a full, fair and thorough manner, as quickly as practicably possible. There is also guidance contained within the Discipline at Work Policy and Procedure that outlines timescales for starting the fact finding, return of summary notes of meeting, time to be given when inviting an employee to a fact finding meeting and a disciplinary hearing.
Question 13: What safeguards are in place to detect falsification or dishonesty during internal investigations?
Answer: All fact finders conducting internal investigations are trusted and expected to conduct this activity in a honest, fair and thorough manner, to ensure that they are able to detect all evidence related to a case, which may include falsification and dishonesty.
Question 14: How many cases of gross misconduct involving assault and/or battery between employees have been recorded in the past five years?
And;
Question 15: Of these cases, how many resulted in dismissal?
And;
Question 16: How many cases of falsification or dishonesty in relation to a misconduct investigation were discovered in the past five years? What were the outcomes of these cases?
Answer: I am afraid it is not possible to source this information within the costs limit for responding to FOI cases, as set out under section 12 of the FOI Act. Under section 12, TfL is not obliged to provide information if it would cost more than £450 to determine if the requested information is held, and to then locate, retrieve, or extract it from elsewhere. This is calculated at a rate of £25 per hour, equivalent to 18 hours work.
In this instance the costs limit applies because the information has not been collated before and there is no quick, efficient or automated way of doing so. Rather, in order to obtain the information you have requested, we would have to manually review all disciplinary case records on an individual basis. In the last five years there were over 1,270 such cases. Our HR team estimate that to conduct such an exercise it would take 8 minutes per case, meaning that to review all such cases over the period in question would take around 170 hours.
In order to bring your request within the costs limit you may wish to reframe it to narrow its scope, focussing on the information that is of most importance to you. However, please note that given the figures cited above, even reducing the timeframe by a large extent – such as to the last year – this would still invoke the costs exemption (there were 209 disciplinary cases raised in the last 12 months, which would take around 28 hours to review).
Question 17: What training or guidance is provided to staff regarding workplace violence, including TFL’s policy on assault, misconduct, and falsification?
Answer: TfL has a Workplace Violence Unit that imparts training and guidance to frontline staff that covers preparedness, response and available support in relation to Workplace Aggression and Violence.
Question 18: Does TFL provide specific training to managers or HR staff on how to handle investigations into gross misconduct involving assault and dishonesty?
Answer: TfL offers a virtual classroom training on ‘Managing Investigations’, as part of its suite of management training courses and encourages its managers across the business to undertake this training as part of their ongoing development in their job roles.
Question 19: What support mechanisms are offered to employees who are victims of assault or battery?
Answer: Support is offered to staff in various ways, including:
- Trauma support through Occupational Health or a Stations trauma support group volunteer
- Accompanying them to a hospital for treatment and medical care
- Counselling via Trauma Counsellors or our Employee Assistance Programme
- Allowing them time off to recover/heal.
Question 20: Does TFL have specific guidance or a checklist for managers or HR teams on how to conduct a fair and impartial investigation into serious misconduct, such as assault or dishonesty?
Answer: This is covered under the virtual classroom training on ‘Managing Investigations’ mentioned in the response to question 18.
Question 21: How are allegations of gross misconduct, specifically assault, reported and recorded at TFL?
Answer: All cases of gross misconduct, including assault, are raised manually under the ‘Discipline‘ category, and recorded in TfL’s case management portal SAP EIC.
Question 22: What procedures are in place to ensure that all employees are aware of how to report misconduct or workplace violence?
Answer: All employees are made aware of the various policies and procedures during their TfL induction and encouraged to read and familiarise themselves in this regard.
Question 23: What measures are in place at TFL to ensure equality and fairness during misconduct investigations, particularly when dealing with cases where an employee may have acted dishonestly?
Answer: The procedure for a fair investigation is laid out in Section 8 (8.1 to 8.3.4) of the Discipline at Work Policy and Procedure.
Question 24: Are there any specific protections for whistleblowers who report incidents of assault or falsification of evidence?
Answer: These are covered under Section 5 (Requirements) of TfL’s Whistleblowing Policy (see attached).
Question 25: Please provide any internal reports or audits regarding the handling of misconduct cases, which might provide further information on how consistently policies are applied.
Answer: We do not hold any such audits or report.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
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
