Water company pay has come under intense scrutiny in recent years, amid disgust over sewage flowing into Britain\u2019s rivers and seas. Severn Trent revealed that Jesic\u2019s immediate predecessor, Liv Garfield, was one of the bosses blocked from receiving bonuses for the financial year to March because of environmental failures.<\/p>\n
Severn Trent had escaped the ban the year before<\/a>. It complained bitterly about the ban, saying it was not a proportional punishment because a single serious pollution incident could prevent the payment of bonuses. It said the ban \u2013 introduced by Ofwat, the regulator for English and Welsh water firms \u2013 was \u201cundermining the ability of the sector to attract and retain the leadership capability required to deliver sustained improvement for customers and the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n The utility, which serves 4.7 million customers around Bristol, the Midlands and east Wales, also removed an environmental performance measure from the criteria determining future bonuses.<\/p>\n James Jesic started as Severn Trent\u2019s CEO in January on a base salary of \u00a3775,000. Photograph: Severn Trent<\/p>\n Jesic started as chief executive in January on a base salary of \u00a3775,000. In the first three months of 2026 he made \u00a3740,000 in pro rata salary and bonuses that were not banned because he was not chief executive during the incidents \u2013 although he was employed in a senior role.<\/p>\n Severn Trent cut the size of his potential annual bonus from 120% of his salary to 100%. However, at the same time the company increased the LTIP from 200% of salary to 400%, raising the overall amount he could receive significantly, according to the annual report, published in May.<\/p>\n Jesic\u2019s theoretical maximum pay packet for a single year could reach \u00a34.8m when including the salary, bonuses, benefits such as an electric car and a \u00a315,000 \u201cgreen travel allowance\u201d, plus pension contributions. That would be significantly more than the \u00a33.9m peak annual earnings for Garfield<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n James Wallace, the chief executive of the River Action campaign group, said: \u201cThe public will rightly question whether any chief executive should receive a multimillion-pound pay package when the company they were responsible for recorded around 36,000 sewage spills lasting more than 200,000 hours in 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n Severn Trent\u2019s bonus calculations removed reference to its score in the government\u2019s environmental performance assessment, despite generally being considered one of the better performers on pollution among UK water companies. The company said it was justified in watering down the measure because it \u201ccould be heavily influenced by factors outside management\u2019s control, reducing its effectiveness within the bonus structure\u201d. It replaced it with a customer service metric, while some different environmental measures also remained.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter | Every weekday<\/p>\n Sign up to Business Today<\/p>\n Get set for the working day \u2013 we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n A Severn Trent spokesperson said: \u201cOur remuneration policy follows both the letter and the spirit of Ofwat\u2019s rules. We have been completely open with Ofwat and our application of the rules, which apply to all our incentive programmes, is entirely compliant and is funded by shareholders and not customer bills.<\/p>\n \u201cCritically, our policy is focused on delivering long term for our customers, communities and continued sector-leading environmental performance. We\u2019re investing billions in our infrastructure at record levels and at an accelerating pace, reducing spills by 41% last year, and remain highly confident of achieving the top environmental status for a record-breaking seventh year.\u201d<\/p>\n Severn Trent\u2019s LTIP would still be subject to any future application of a bonus ban to the company. However, other companies have been accused of trying to skirt the ban<\/a>. United Utilities, which serves north-west England, has faced criticism for awarding its chief executive, Louise Beardmore, a \u00a3435,000 \u201callowance\u201d with no performance conditions.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/500.jpg\")
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