Bonuses of bumps prohibited in six water companies

A number of water companies have been prohibited from paying “unfair” bonuses to senior managers under new rules, the government announced.

The measures apply to water companies that do not meet environmental standards and consumers, are not financially resilient or have been sentenced to criminal offense.

There have been increasing public concerns about wastewater spills and the increase in bills for years while water companies have paid 112 million pounds to the leaders in the past decade.

Under the reinforced waters law, six companies are prohibited from paying bonuses this year, notably Water Anglian, Southern Water, Thames Water, United Utilities, Wessex Water and Yorkshire Water.

The prohibition, which is rear until April 2024, means that the supply regulator can force companies to recover bonuses that have been paid or to face the law implementation measures. It applies to sharing awards as well as species.

It is part of new measures of the water law which comes into force on Friday.

The environment secretary, Steve Reed, said that the bosses of the Compagnie des Eaux “should only get bonuses if they had performed well, certainly not if they have failed to combat water pollution”.

Officials said the government would examine companies trying to get around the prohibition by increasing the basic wages of executives.

But the spokesperson for the liberal democratic environment, Tim Farron, described the announcement of the “half-cooked” government.

He added that “does not touch the parties to the implementation of the fundamental reform – especially if the water companies can still bypass and manage”.

In the past year only, 7.6 million pounds sterling premiums were paid to the water bosses in England, the government said.

Water UK, which represents industry companies, said that independent companies, which decide on performance -related remuneration, will respect the laws established by the government.

He added: “The water companies focus on the investment of a record of 104 billion pounds sterling over the next five years to guarantee our water supplies, the final wastewater entering our rivers and our seas and supporting economic growth.”

This week, a review revealed that the water industry in England and Wales fails.

The Independent Water Commission, led by the former vice-governor of the Bank of England, Sir Jon Cunliffe, said in its provisional conclusions that public confidence had been shaken by “pollution, financial difficulties, defects in poor management infrastructure”.

Customers have seen Bills Rocket while water companies are trying to collect funds to invest in ruined infrastructure.

The Commission said that the United Kingdom’s water system had undergone “deeply rooted, systemic and nested failures over the years”.

This included “failure in government strategy and planning for the future”.

Last month, Thames Water was sentenced to a fine of 122.7 million pounds sterling To break the rules on wastewater spills and payments for shareholders, the biggest fine ever issued by OFWAT.

The very compensated company serves approximately a quarter of the population of the United Kingdom, mainly through London and in certain parts of the south of England, and employs 8,000 people.

Earlier this week, the Thames suffered a major blow in order to secure its future after an American investment giant KKR withdrawn from a rescue agreement of 4 billion pounds sterling for the company.

In April, activists discovered that the The number of pollution incidents in England was at a 10 -year summit.