Mayor Sadiq Khan has commissioned a review of the severance pay across the Greater London Authority after pay-offs at Transport for London exceeded £50m for the second year running.
The organisation is currently restructuring operations to allow it to absorb the axing of governing funding and cope with falling fare revenue.
Although it’s achieved total savings of £608m, TfL spent £50m last year paying senior managers and other staff to leave the organisation.
The review will be conducted by Dawn Jarvis, previously HR Director at the Department of Education and will examine pay and severance arrangements at the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, the London Legacy Development Corporation, the new London Fire Commissioner Office, and TfL.
Mr Khan’s office stresses that it will not look at changing any existing contracts, but will be focussed on assessing the terms for future contracts.
The Mayor said: “It is essential that London and the GLA continues to attract the very best talent from around the world, and this expertise is essential in keeping London moving and delivering huge projects like the Elizabeth Line opening later this year.
“However, with cuts in funding from central Government across the GLA group, we have to continue to be sharply focussed on ensuring taxpayer money is well spent.
“TfL have taken huge strides in cutting their year-on-year operating costs and reducing the number of senior staff is an important part of this.
“We have to abide by pre-existing contractual commitments, but I want to ensure that future contractual arrangements for senior staff are in the best interests of Londoners.”
Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member, said passengers would find the “huge severance payments galling” in light of recent service cuts and a fall in Tube reliability and accused the mayor of “attempting to close the stable gate after the horse has bolted.”
She added: “Ordering a review into future payments is no cover for the fact that these have taken place at a time when Sadiq Khan has been the head of TfL.”
