Bonus Ban For Anglian Water Following Failures

Anglian Water has been banned from paying bonuses to its Chief Executive for failing to meet standards.

The company, responsible for waste water in the Market Harborough area and for supplying water in Northamptonshire, is one of five firms affected by new government rules that have come into force today.

They prevent bonuses from being paid if a water company does not meet environmental or consumer standards, does not meet financial resilience requirements, or is convicted of a criminal offence.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “Water company bosses, like anyone else, should only get bonuses if they’ve performed well, certainly not if they’ve failed to tackle water pollution.

“Undeserved bonuses will now be banned as part of the Government’s plan to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.

“Promise made, promise delivered.”

Pic: Anglian Water

An Anglian Water spokesperson said: “We have a brand new chief executive officer and chief financial officer, and for this year (2024/25) while serious pollutions performance improved (by 36%), Anglian Water Services will not pay a bonus to either of its retiring executive directors, or our new CEO Mark Thurston.

“We fully support financial reward being tightly linked to company performance and have significantly reduced all senior management and director bonuses in numerous consecutive years as a result.

“This is a vital sector, pivotal to the nation’s growth and prosperity, and we know we need to work hard as a sector to regain trust of customers and stakeholders.”

The other firms affected are Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, Wessex Water, Southern Water and United Utilities.