Wessex Water chief gets above-inflation pay rise despite bonus ban

newsJul 18, 202612414

Wessex Water awarded chief executive Ruth Jefferson a 14 percent base salary increase in October, raising her pay from £590,000 to £670,000 and taking her total package to £791,000 after pension and other benefits. The rise was far above the 3.5 percent pay increase given to workers and put Jefferson on 18 times the company’s median salary. Wessex, which supplies 2.9 million water and sewerage customers in south-west England including Bristol, Bath and Bournemouth, warned in its annual report that it expected to fall foul of a government bonus ban introduced in 2025 particularly over environmental and operational metrics. The company is ultimately owned by Yeoh Tiong Lay & Sons Family Holdings, incorporated in Jersey. The GMB union’s national officer Gary Carter criticised the payment and called for ministers and the regulator to act. The Guardian previously revealed £51,000 in undisclosed payments to Jefferson and chief financial officer Andy Pymer, a disclosure that MPs raised in Parliament. The report also notes a parallel case at Anglian Water where former HS2 boss Mark Thurston received a £500,000 retention payment from Anglian’s parent company, which said the payment was not performance linked and was funded by shareholders.

Prem Sikka

@premnsikka.bsky.social

Wessex Water, owned by a Malaysian entity via Jersey, CEO got 14% base salary increase despite bonus ban over sewage spill. 3.5% for workers WW loses 70m litres of water to leaks daily. Dumps sewage in rivers. Customer bills to rise 21% Bosses rewarded for robbing people, damaging the environment

32445d ago

Idlebirder3

Sadly this sounds all too familiar Prem.😔

Dave Kirby 2

This "Malaysian entity" as owner shows the absurdity of transnational capitalist "ownership". Who can possibly believe that the owner knows or cares anything about the geography, hydrology, workers, or users of Wessex water - they only are interested in steady profits.

The Lady Lucy 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇪🇺🇬🇱🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🐾🐕1

Which IDIOT decided that privatising water was a good idea? Rhetorical question btw

daveofbusbridge9.bsky.social1

Bosses job is to maximise payouts to owners. Providing a reliable service to the customers is the job of his underlings.

Quoting this

Christian Sandberg15

Men visst, låt oss privatisera vattnet här också

Alan Woke 210

Man, water nationalisation (jobs! Better service! Less waste! Lower bills!) Is such an obvious and open goal/subsequent W with the vorers for Labour and they simply won't do that because that would be left-wing.

The Scales ⚖️

@shakethescales.bsky.social

To be fair, he has to claw back his lack of bonus somehow, right? You can't expect him to slum it, we're the ones who have to swim in shit. That's just the way of things in #FailedStateBritian... Suck it up people! www.theguardian.com/business/202...

4245d ago

The Scales ⚖️6

#FailedStateBritain 😊 I haven't worked out the stats, but I figure most of my spelling errors are linked to stories such as this...

Cyril2

Nationalism all water companies. Their a disgrace.

Brian

@brianscant.bsky.social

Fuck Manchesterism. Fuck whether Burnham can ‘think’ ‘listen’ or ‘care’. All I want to hear from Burnham is that he is going to nationalise the water companies. Not ‘consider’ or ‘review’ or ‘investigate’ it. But actually DO it. And not in 10 years. www.theguardian.com/business/202... #Water

2845d ago

DoctorDee 🇺🇦 Слава Україні1

I'd like some of the money back. I do'lt think you should be allowed to offer shit service, and run up huge debt will taking obscene pay and bonuses, and paying dividends.

Inequality News

@inequalitynews.bsky.social

🤬 The den of thieves that is the privatised water industry continues unchecked. We should bring back the stocks for water company bosses...🤮 www.theguardian.com/business/202...

1345d ago

Mr and Mrs Trellis

@thenorfolkcoast.bsky.social

Wessex Water chief pockets above-inflation pay rise despite bonus ban over sewage spills... www.theguardian.com/business/202...

145d ago

Cenric

@cenricc.bsky.social

"Malaysian-owned Wessex Water" "incorporated in the Jersey tax haven" "supplies 2.9 million water & sewerage customers in south-west England,including Bristol,Bath & Bournemouth" "granted permission to increase bills by 21% over 5 years to pay 4 upgrades 2 infrastructure." Privatisation working 4 U?

245d ago

MullingKintyre

@mullingkintyre.bsky.social

Surely this case shows that the time has come to re-nationalise the water supply industry. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

145d ago

Pete Cookson

@pete-cookson.bsky.social

CEO’s pay packet surges to £791,000 as union says public ‘sick of obscene pay’ and bosses ‘feathering own nests’. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

144d ago

sergeantpluck.bsky.social

@sergeantpluck.bsky.social

14% pay rise, a reward for blagging a 21% bill increase. "Wessex is ultimately owned by Yeoh Tiong Lay & Sons Family Holdings, a company named after its late Malaysian founder and incorporated in the Jersey tax haven." Labour: get a grip on this nonsense. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

144d ago

The Ragged Trousered Philatilist

@ianandriley.bsky.social

£791k and you can’t deliver clean water and you can’t deliver water at all if it’s a bit dry and warm. The private sector has no place in the delivery of utilities - get out and take your grifting private equity arseholes with you. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

145d ago

Jane Pickersgill

@artyjane1.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/business/202... and the scandals continue. Malaysian owned #wessexwater this time. We need to #takebackcontrol don't we? Privatised water is a #dirtybusiness - robbing us blind.

45d ago

Orz

@nofilter247.bsky.social

The Wessex Water chief just pocketed a massive pay raise after all those sewage spills. Just another day of failing upwards

44d ago

1 source

theguardian.comWessex Water chief pockets above-inflation pay rise despite bonus ban over sewage spills

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Wessex Water chief gets above-inflation pay rise despite bonus ban

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