A former water company boss has been handed a £270k bonus despite a parasite outbreak that sickened more than 140 people and caused a public health scandal.
Susan Davy stepped down as chief executive of Pennon, the group that owns South West Water, last year. She received the six-figure sum despite the board initially deciding to withhold the bonus following a public outcry.
South West Water pumped drinking water to thousands of homes in Devon containing cryptosporidium, a microscopic parasite that causes a highly infectious gastrointestinal illness.
The outbreak in May 2024 impa…
Can you explain how that works for the least paid water CEO who earns £440k + bonus? Or the highest paid who receives £3.3 million + bonus?
I think I understand that you’re making some sort of abstract, generalised point about CEO pay - but can you explain how that applies here to the pay of water fat cats?
This applies here due to the phrasing of the headline - the headline implies that the CEO got rewarded for doing a bad job based on being paid a “big” bonus. But their pay structure is structured in a way where this is a usual and expected part of their pay.
This isn’t really about what water company CEOs are paid but journalists using CEO pay structure for an outrage inducing headline.