Transport for London bonus payments delayed by a year

Transport for London chiefs are to have their bonuses delayed by a year due to the impact that coronavirus has had on the organisation’s finances.

Board members have also ruled that no bonuses will be awarded for the current financial year despite praising TfL executives for their “exceptional” response to the pandemic.

Last year more than £1.7 million was paid to 45 executives at TfL and Crossrail — an average of £38,400. TfL commissioner Mike Brown received the biggest bonus, of £133,586.

Bonuses are paid in arrears, but TfL’s remuneration committee yesterday decided to defer “performance-­related pay” for 2019/20 for 12 months and to scrap bonuses for 2020/21.

Last month TfL required a £1.6 billion bailout from the Government to keep services running due to the collapse in fares as passengers followed advice to avoid public transport. A second bailout will be needed from September.

Heidi Alexander, the deputy mayor for transport, said: “We can’t pay out any performance awards for the last financial year at the moment.

“The truth of the matter is that we have huge financial uncertainty. There are really big risks around our revenue going forward. We don’t know how many people are going to be returning to the public transport system.

“I’m also sorry to say that I can’t personally see how we can commit to any performance awards for the current year either.

“I recognise that there will be a lot of TfL staff who will be very disappointed to hear that. I just can’t see any other way through this. It’s simply a reflection of the really awful situation in which we have found ourselves in.”

The number of TfL executives taking home six-figure sums has been a source of controversy for years but the numbers have been declining.

Last year 515 staff earned in excess of £100,000 — though this included 117 who reached six figures due to severance pay. The remuneration committee was told that the pandemic had had a “serious and negative impact on TfL’s finances” that was likely to continue for the “medium and long-term future”. It said reducing or withdrawing the bonuses was one way of saving cash.

Separate figures yesterday showed that TfL’s finances improved slightly last month as more people travelling by Tube but the loss in overall passenger income was £75 million a week.