Ofwat, the water regulator for England and Wales, is scrutinising payments worth £1.3m made to the chief executive of Yorkshire Water, Nicola Shaw, via an offshore parent company. The payments, made by Jersey-incorporated Kelda Holdings between April 2023 and March 2025, were revealed after the Guardian raised questions about transparency.
A government spokesperson confirmed that Ofwat would assess the payments to ensure compliance with rules banning bonuses for water company bosses. Executive pay at water firms has faced intense scrutiny amid public anger over sewage discharges, leading to a ban on bonuses for chief executives and finance directors at companies responsible for serious environmental pollution.
Yorkshire Water, which raised average household bills by 41% to £607, was among six firms banned from paying bonuses. However, the extra payments from Kelda meant Shaw earned over £1.3m in 2024-25, nearly double the salary reported by the regulated subsidiary, Yorkshire Water Services.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs stated that any attempts to circumvent bonus rules are unacceptable and that the government will claw back payments found to be against regulations. However, a source suggested the payments may not breach rules if they are not performance-related.
Campaigners have expressed anger, noting that Shaw publicly turned down a bonus in May 2023, a month after the offshore payments began. Shaw, who joined Yorkshire Water in 2022, has received £3.8m in total pay over three years, including the offshore sums.
