The head of South East Water said he will give up a bonus this year after recent outages left thousands of customers without drinking water in Kent and Sussex.
Chief executive David Hinton, who receives a salary of £400,000, said he had made the decision not to receive any additional “performance” payments for the 2025/2025 financial year.
Hinton also apologized to customers for the “unacceptable disruptions” in a statement issued on Tuesday after his appearance before the Parliamentary Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.
Tunbridge Wells experienced major supply disruptions in November and December before thousands of properties in Kent and Sussex suffered an outage in January.
Customers were left without tap water, unable to shower or bathe, or flush toilets, while several schools were forced to close.
“We recognize the serious impact this has had on our customers and know that we fell short of what was expected of us,” Hinton said.
“In recognition of this, I have made the decision not to accept any bonuses for the year 2025/2026.”
It came after he and SEW chairman Chris Train were grilled by MPs over their response to multiple supply disruptions.
During the hearing, Train revealed for the first time that Hinton indicated he would forgo any bonus the board had decided to pay him this year.
The president said: “We haven't finalized performance pay for this year. But Dave has indicated that he is not prepared to receive a bonus this year.”
When asked by committee chairman Alistair Carmichael if the board was willing to grant him one, Train seemed to suggest that was not necessarily the case, saying: “No.”
Hinton, who was appointed chief executive of the company in 2020, received £457,000 last year for 2024/25, including a £115,000 bonus, and some reports say he will receive a 30% rise in his basic salary this year.
Carmichael also pressed Train on why the board had rewarded bosses with bonuses and increased salaries despite years of failures at the company.
Mr. Train responded that the board's compensation committee “evaluates executive salaries to ensure we are getting the best balance of executive quality for the organization.”
Pressed on these executives failing customers and shareholders, Train said: “We are disappointed. Dave has given up his bonus, even if we were to give him (one) as a compensation committee.
“That made the conversation probably a lot easier than it might have been otherwise.”
Later, in a tense exchange, MPs repeatedly questioned Train about why there had been no changes to the leadership team, highlighting major failings as well as criticism from the Prime Minister, his shareholders, clients and a range of public and private bodies.
But Mr Train defended the board's decisions around governance and leadership, saying: “We have looked at, as we would be expected to do, what is the appropriate leadership of the organization going forward.
“The board has given its commitment and support to Dave and the executive team to move forward as the right solution to deliver the best for South East Water customers.”
He added that the company is “reinforcing” the executive with a series of external hires that will cover a “broader spectrum of leadership across the organization.”
When pressed repeatedly about customers no longer trusting the company's leadership, he said: “We are responsible for where we are.
“We, as a board, have to step back and ask the questions you ask. We have to look at the broader context of the organization.
“We have to look at the context of the industry and the sector and we have to do what we think is best in the best interests of South East Water customers.”
