Revealed: The internal TfL memo offering Tube drivers a four-day week

An exclusive deep dive into TfL's plans to cut time at work on the Underground

Illustration by @cllmrolodex

Morning — one of London’s most hard-bargaining workforces has won what many others can only dream of: a four-day week, on full pay.

Today we’re bringing you an internal TfL memo we’ve acquired under Freedom of Information laws that lifts the lid on plans for a four-day week for Tube drivers. There’s been a lot of technical jargon and diagrams to wade through, but it’s a clear gain for drivers: an extra four and a half hours off the clock each week.

But beyond that, the document sheds light on how TfL plans to cope with fewer working days per driver, and what that means when things go wrong on the capital’s transport network. That includes new restrictions on drivers — as well as a new fleet of personal iPad-like devices.

All that and more is below.

But just one thing first: It can be a right faff doing these FoI stories — carefully writing the request, waiting weeks for a response, only to be rejected. But for us, publishing these otherwise private documents is what local journalism is all about. So please consider becoming one of our paid subscribers — for a couple of quid a month, you give us the time we need to dig.

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What a four-day week for Tube drivers actually looks like

By the Spy

An example four-day week roster included in the internal TfL memo we’ve acquired

The rollout of a four-day week for Tube drivers could begin “early next year”, the Spy can reveal, as we disclose an internal TfL memo laying out major changes to work on the Underground.

Under TfL’s current offer, Tube drivers will move to new rotas with three rest days, and their overall time at work will be reduced by 4 and a half hours a week.

Instead of working five shifts a week, each lasting 7 hours and 42 minutes, drivers will begin working four shifts a week, each lasting 8 hours and 30 minutes, according to the memo.

Though daily shifts will be longer, in total it means Tube drivers will see their time at work reduced from 38.5 to 34 hours each week.

The memo also reveals that the rollout of a four-day week will be staggered line-by-line on the Underground, and that drivers will be paid for their daily 30-minute lunch breaks for the first time.

The proposed changes are the result of an offer made by TfL to driver unions to avoid major strikes on the Underground network last year.

The offer was first made in general terms in a letter sent by TfL to the unions in November 2024, but earlier this year London’s transport body provided unions with more detail of how a four-day week will actually work.

The Spy has acquired a TfL presentation laying out these details, via a Freedom of Information request.

The front cover of the TfL memo

However, only one of the two unions that represent Tube drivers has formally accepted TfL’s offer.

Members of ASLEF, the union that represents the majority of drivers, voted to accept the offer this April.

By contrast, members of the RMT, the other union representing drivers, voted to reject the offer.

A spokesperson for the RMT told us this was because the offer did not meet the union’s expectations around “excessive night working, which is seriously damaging our members’ health”.

ASLEF, however, told us it was optimistic the four-day week would be rolled out soon.

Finn Brennan, ASLEF’s London organiser, said he expected that “the first new rosters will be introduced early next year".

He added: “The agreement means a real improvement in quality of life for our members while reducing fatigue and introducing new technology that will mean a better and more reliable service for passengers.”

Our summary of the key slides in the TfL memo, plus a link to a full PDF, is below.