Water companies circumventing bonus rules? What did ministers expect?
The article critiques the UK's Water (Special Measures) Act 2025, arguing that it failed to prevent water company executives from circumventing bonus bans. It highlights how companies have shifted compensation toward salary increases and retention payments to bypass regulatory restrictions.
Why it matters
It exposes the limitations of government regulation in curbing executive pay in privatized utility sectors, raising questions about corporate accountability.
The flaw in the Water (Special Measures) Act was always obvious. The flaw in the Water (Special Measures) Act was always obvious. Nils Pratley on finance Water industry Water companies circumventing bonus rules? What did ministers expect? Nils Pratley Door was left open to such behaviour because the regulator for England and Wales can only use the powers it was given by parliament
Thames Water’s £1m payout to finance chief is ‘unacceptable’, says government department
A nybody who followed the supposed “clampdown” on bankers’ bonuses after the great financial crash in 2008 knew what to expect when water company bosses became a similar target for a bash in the bonus department. We would see the waterbed principle in action: when you push down in one area of remuneration, such as the performance-related stuff, another tends to go up.
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