South East Water boss to give up bonus after thousands of customers hit by outages

South East Water’s boss has said he will give up the bonus this year after the latest cuts left thousands of customers without drinking water in Kent and Sussex.

South East Water (SEW) chief executive David Hinton, who is paid £400,000, said he had decided not to receive any additional “performance” payments for the 2025/2026 financial year.

Mr Hinton also apologized to customers for “unacceptable disruptions” in a statement after appearing before Parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

Tunbridge Wells suffered major supply disruptions in November and December before thousands of properties in Kent and Sussex experienced a disruption in January.

Customers were left without running water, unable to shower or bathe, and their toilets could not be flushed; Some schools were also forced to close.

“We recognize the serious impact this has had on our customers and know we have fallen short of what was expected of us,” Mr Hinton said.

“Being aware of this, I have decided not to accept any bonuses for 2025/2026.”

It comes after MPs, along with SEW chief executive Chris Train, were grilled over their response to multiple supply disruptions.

During the hearing, Mr. Train explained that Mr. Hinton had first indicated that he would forgo any bonuses the board might have chosen to pay him this year.

The chairman said: “This year’s performance pay has not been finalized yet. However, Dave has indicated that he is not prepared to receive a bonus this year.”

Despite an objection from the committee’s chairman, Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael, about whether the board was prepared to give him one, Mr Train said “No”, arguing that was not necessarily the case.

Mr Hinton, who was appointed SEW chief executive in 2020, was paid £457,000 in the last financial year for 2024/25, including a £115,000 bonus; some reports say he will receive a 30 percent increase in base salary this year.

Mr Carmichael also pressed Mr Train on why the board was awarding bonuses and increasing bosses’ pay despite years of failures at the firm.

Mr. Train said the board’s compensation committee “compares executive salaries to make sure we get the best balance of executive quality for the organization.”

Pressing those executives who failed customers and shareholders, Mr Train said: “We are disappointed. Dave handed over his bonus even though we as a pay committee would have given (one).

“That made the conversation a lot easier than it probably would have been otherwise.”

In a tense exchange later, MPs repeatedly questioned Mr Train about why no changes had been made to the leadership team, highlighting major failings as well as criticism from the Prime Minister, shareholders, customers and a range of public and private bodies.

Mr Train defended the board’s decisions regarding governance and leadership, saying: “We have examined, as you would expect us to do, what the appropriate leadership of the organization should do going forward.

“The board has given Dave and his management team its commitment and support to deliver the right solution to deliver the best to South East Water customers.”

He added that the firm had “supported” the executive with a series of external hires that would cover “a broader spectrum of leadership across the organisation”.

Repeatedly insisting that customers no longer trust the company’s leadership, he said: “We are responsible for where we are.

“We as a board need to step back and ask the questions you’re asking. We need to look at the broader context of the organization.”

“We need to look at the industry and its context and do what we think is in the best interests of South East Water customers.”