Sickness Absence Figures

The request was partially successful.

Dear Transport for London,

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 I seek the following
information about sickness absence at TfL:

1. Total number of days lost to sickness absence in the financial
years 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12 and 2012/13

2. Total percentage of sickness absence rate against contractual
time in the last four financial years

3. Total cost of sickness absence in the last four financial
years (broken down for each year)

4. Five most common reasons for sickness in the last four
financial years

I would prefer to receive this information electronically,
preferably as a data set, eg. in Excel, NOT as a PDF.

If the decision is made to withhold some of this data using
exemptions in the Data Protection Act, please inform me of that
fact and cite the exemptions used.

If some parts of this request are easier to answer than others, I
would ask that you release the available data as soon as possible.

If you need any clarification then please do not hesitate to
contact me. Under Section 16 it is your duty to provide advice and
assistance and so I would expect you to contact me if you find this
request unmanageable in any way.

I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have
received this request, and I look forward to hearing from you
within the 20-working day statutory time period.

Yours faithfully,

Max Benwell

FOI, Transport for London

Dear Mr Benwell,

 

Our ref:  FOI-1444-1314

 

Thank you for your email received on 7 November 2013 asking for
information about sickness absence figures.

 

Your request will be processed in accordance with the requirements of the
Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. 

 

A response will be provided to you by 5 December 2013

 

In the meantime, if you would like to discuss this matter further, please
do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Melissa Nichols

FOI Case Officer

 

FOI Case Management Team | Transport for London

Windsor House, 42-50 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL

[TfL request email]

 

 

 

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FOI, Transport for London

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Benwell,

 

TfL Ref: FOI-1444-1314

 

Thank you for your email received by us on 7 November 2013 asking for
information about sickness absence.

 

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of
the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can
confirm we hold some of the information you require. You asked for:

 

1.    Total number of days lost to sickness absence in the financial years
2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12 and 2012/13

 

Please find the table below showing the total number of days of staff
absence due to sickness, for employees of TfL since 2009/2010.

 

We employ 27,000 and are trying to reduce the amount of sickness absence
by improving the health of all our staff with comprehensive occupational
health services, by giving them the opportunity to have flu jabs, and have
their blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol checked. In order to
help staff return to work earlier we offer in-house physiotherapy and
counselling.

 

We also recently received a London Healthy Workplace Charter Award in
recognition of our efforts to ensure that the health and wellbeing of our
staff is at the heart of our organisation. We do this in a variety of ways
which includes giving our staff access to a free health check and advice.
We are also improving staff engagement and the people management skills of
line managers which we know are key factors in improving attendance.

 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Days Lost and % Sickness|FY-2009/10|FY-2010/11|FY-2011/12|FY-2012/13|
| Absence| | | | |
|----------------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------|
| Days Lost| 208,507| 224,481| 210,359| 203,085|
|----------------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------|
| Absence Rate %| 3.80%| 3.68%| 3.60%| 3.51%|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

Please note these figures are subject to change where, for example, if an
employee was initially not recorded as sick (e.g. absent), and it has
since been determined the absence was due to illness, the record will be
changed to show sickness.

 

     2.  Total percentage of sickness absence rate against contractual
time in the last four financial years

     Please see table above.

 

     3. Total cost of sickness absence in the last four financial years
(broken down for each year)

     We are unable to provide a figure for this as we do not record the
cost of sickness absence.

 

     4. Five most common reasons for sickness in the last four financial
years

 

FY2009/10
Musculo Skeletal
Respiratory Tract Infection
Mental Health
Gastrointestinal
Accidents/Assaults

 

FY2010/11
Musculo Skeletal
Mental Health
Respiratory Tract Infection
Gastrointestinal
Accidents/Assaults

 

FY2011/12
Musculo Skeletal
Mental Health
Respiratory Tract Infection
Gastrointestinal
Accidents/Assaults

 

FY2012/13
Musculo Skeletal
Respiratory Tract Infection
Mental Health
Gastrointestinal
Accidents/Assaults

 

If this is not the information you are looking for, please do not hesitate
to contact me.

 

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to
appeal.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Melissa Nichols

FOI Case Officer

 

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

 

 

 

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