Wessex Water chief pockets above-inflation pay rise despite bonus ban over sewage spills | Executive pay and bonuses

Wessex Water gave its CEO a pay rise above inflation, despite the company being banned from paying bonuses due to a sewage leak, it has been revealed.

Ruth Jefferson received a 14% base pay increase from £590,000 to £670,000 in October, before other benefits, according to accounts published this month. This was well above the 3.5 percent given to workers, and his salary was 18 times the wage of the company’s average employee.

The pay of water sector executives has come under intense scrutiny in recent years amid public anger over the dumping of sewage into Britain’s rivers and seas. This has led the government to impose a bonus ban in 2025 on companies responsible for serious pollution or failing financial tests.

Malaysian-owned Wessex Water provides water and sewerage services to 2.9 million water and sewerage customers in south-west England, including Bristol, Bath and Bournemouth. In its report, it explained that it expected to comply with the bonus ban “particularly in relation to environmental and operational measurements”.

Jefferson’s full pay package this year comes to £791,000 when pension and other unspecified benefits are included. The previous year he had received £440,000 for six months while serving as chief compliance officer and then chief executive.

Another water company, Anglian Water, gave its chief executive Mark Thurston a £500,000 “exemption payment” despite being banned from paying bonuses.

The payment to the former HS2 rail boss was made by Anglian’s parent company and the company claimed it was allowed because the bonus was not linked to performance.

Anglian said the payment was not in lieu of bonuses and was made to Thurston in July 2025 “to ensure retention until January 2027” of funds that would otherwise have been paid to shareholders.

The annual report said he “holds a long-held, determined view that banning bonuses is not useful” and that it would be “more effective to focus on rewarding development”.

An Anglian Water spokesman said it paid “targeted, time-limited retention arrangements to ensure continuity of leadership”, but these were “not a substitute for bonuses and are not paid by Anglian Water Services or its customers”. Shareholders have paid up, the company said.

Gary Carter, national officer of the GMB union, said: “The government has tried to stop water company bosses giving themselves huge bonuses, but they continue to find ways to sneak around the legislation and line their pockets.

“Water chief executives have not learned that the public is tired of obscene fees and corporate failures – and they will learn as long as they can clean up their own nests. The onus must be on ministers and the regulator to find a way to stop them.”

Wessex said no payments had been made to executive directors of other group companies in the past year, after the Guardian revealed in January that it had made previously undisclosed payments of £51,000 to Jefferson and chief financial officer Andy Pymer. The Guardian’s report was as follows: brought forward by MPs in parliament.

Wessex is owned by Yeoh Tiong Lay & Sons Family Holdings, a company named after its Malaysian founder and incorporated in the tax haven of Jersey. He said that “the bonus payment was prohibited because conditions that would trigger the PRP application emerged during the year.” [performance-related pay] The prohibition rule is applied taking into account overall company performance, particularly in relation to environmental and operational measures.”

Wessex has been given permission to increase bills for infrastructure improvements by 21% over five years.

A Wessex Water spokesman said: “Following a planned review following his first year in office, and as reported in our accounts, the CEO’s pay was adjusted at the time of appointment to bring pay closer to market benchmarks, which were deliberately set below comparable organisations.”

Yorkshire Water, another UK privatized utility, continued to receive similar payments from group companies during the year. Chief executive Nicola Shaw received £660,000 from parent company Kelda Holdings, according to accounts published last week.

The statement sparked harsh criticism of the company from local politicians and campaigners. Regulator Ofwat said this would force companies to disclose payments from other group companies.

Yorkshire Water’s board said: “The board acknowledged the criticism received during the year over the failure to disclose executive fees paid by the group’s parent company, Kelda Holdings Ltd, and has committed to being fully transparent about this in the future to help rebuild trust.”