Water industry bonus ban to be tightened as Ofwat warns of ‘damage to public trust’
Regulator to hasten review over concerns that firms are ‘undermining’ rules to make large payments to bosses The water company bonus ban is set to be tightened after the regulator accused the industry of a risk of “damaging public trust” with large payments to bosses that appeared to get around the rules. Anglian Water was singled out for particular criticism over “retention payments” worth up to…
The water industry's bonus ban is to be tightened as the regulator Ofwat warns that large payments to executives could damage public trust. Anglian Water was singled out for criticism over retention payments worth up to £800,000 for their chief executive, despite the ban. The regulator is accelerating a review into the rules, as companies have allegedly been "undermining" the ban through non-performance-related payments.
Nine water companies in England and Wales were banned from paying bonuses for the 2025-26 financial year, with seven related to environmental pollution. Ofwat stated that companies are using "fixed 'retention payments'" and "substantial increases in base pay" to circumvent the ban. Angela Eagle, the environment secretary, wants to "close loopholes" so that "failure doesn’t pay," emphasizing that the bonus ban was the first step and that any loopholes must be closed.
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