Water bosses’ pay rises despite bonus ban and public fury over bills and pollution

A $60B Vote of Confidence

The astronomical sums paid to water company executives are a perfect illustration of everything that is wrong with treating this essential public resource as a private commodity. The utilities have been allowed to raise bills sharply to make belated investments in their leaking pipes, ageing treatment works and new reservoirs. Recent hot weather has added to the frustrations of customers. Eight companies said they expect to be covered by the bonus ban for 2025-26, with bans applied retrospectively to companies responsible for the most serious pollution incidents or financial failings. Yet despite the ban and heavy criticism, total pay for chief executives and chief financial officers reported by water companies was £25.3m for the year to the end of March, up from £24.9m the year before, according to analysis of company accounts. It is the second year in a row that executive pay has risen despite the bonus ban. In some cases the companies have given their bosses extra awards that they claim are not “performance-related payments”, or bonuses, which they argue means the cash is not covered by the ban. Anglian Water said it will be caught by the bonus ban, but still gave more to Thurston. The chief executive, who was Britain’s best-paid public servant when he ran the late and hugely over-budget HS2 rail project, received the bulk of his pay through Anglian’s parent company, including a £500,000 “retention payment”. Anglian, which provides water and sewerage services to nearly 7 million customers in the East of England, claimed the payment did not count as a bonus because it was not linked to the regulated water company’s performance. The company said the payout was funded by shareholders for work outside the regulated company, and it needed “targeted, time-limited retention arrangements to maintain leadership continuity”. Yorkshire Water said it was likely to be banned from paying bonuses, but its parent company, Kelda Holdings, paid another £600,000 to its chief executive, Nicola Shaw, on top of her fixed pay of £732,000. The regular payment – which Yorkshire has said is not related to the water company’s performance – was first revealed last year by the Guardian. Gary Carter, a national officer for the GMB union, which represents many water workers, said: “Finding ways round the bonus ban further tarnishes the reputations of private water companies. It makes them look like money-grabbing asset strippers who care more about lining their own pockets than providing fresh, clean water for the UK public. “Senior executive pay is out of control and the government needs to fundamentally overhaul the water companies – with more public control – to fix it.”