The boss of Yorkshire Water’s decision to forgo her annual bonus due to public anger over sewage pollution of rivers has been labelled a “hollow” gesture by a leading union, after it emerged that she was already in line for a windfall of more than £1m from a previous role.
Nicola Shaw, who joined from National Grid last year, will receive share awards worth £1.3m from the energy network operator next month under a long-term incentive plan initiated in 2020, according to its annual report released last week.
The award – worth about double the payout she declined – threatens to undermine her decision last month to forgo her bonus at Yorkshire Water.
Gary Carter, the national officer at the GMB union, said: “Nicola Shaw painted herself as a martyr for giving up her Yorkshire Water bonus, despite the fact she was set to trouser more than a million quid in share options from a previous job.
“It’s hard to know where she gets the nerve, especially while many water workers are struggling to make ends meet. Refusing a bonus, while pocketing a fortune in the background, makes for a pretty hollow act of contrition.”
Shaw joined the chief executives of Thames Water and South West Water in publicly stating on the same day last month that they would refuse their bonuses, amid widespread criticism of water companies’ pollution records.
She later said: “I get why people are angry – seeing sewage in our rivers and seas isn’t right. We should have a system that befits the 21st century. So, on behalf of Yorkshire Water, I am sorry. We should have acted more quickly to change the situation.
“That’s why I have decided to refuse any bonus this year, as I want us to make progress.”
Her bonus at Yorkshire Water would have been between £600,000 and £800,000, on top of her £574,000 salary.
The company also agreed to pay expenses of “up to £140,000” for Shaw to relocate to Yorkshire. The company declined to answer questions over how much of this sum she had taken.
Shaw was granted “good leaver” status by National Grid on resigning from her role as executive director “given her overall long-term strong performance and contribution to the business”, meaning she was entitled to the share awards.
She received a separate share award from the energy company worth about £1.8m last year and picked up £152,000 in fees and benefits for her role on the board of British Airways owner IAG.
Last week, the Guardian reported that Thames Water had been accused of conducting a “flimsy PR stunt” over its chief executive, Sarah Bentley, shunning her bonus, as the company will soon report that she received £726,000 in extra payments on top of her £750,000 salary.
The daughter of a stockbroker, Shaw worked her way up the transport industry and was chief executive of the £6.2bn High Speed One rail line for five years until 2016. She received a CBE for services to transport in the Queen’s New Year Honours in 2016. She spent six years at National Grid, receiving a pay packet of more than £2m in her final year.
Water companies have been repeatedly condemned for dumping raw sewage into Britain’s rivers and seas. Last month, some firms apologised and said they planned to invest £10bn to reduce spills of overflowing sewage into England’s waterways. However, they were quickly pilloried for passing the bill on to customers.
Yorkshire Water said: “Any payment that Nicola Shaw will receive from National Grid relates solely to and was earned during her time there, has been fully disclosed and is completely unrelated to her work at Yorkshire Water.
“Nicola’s decision not to accept any bonus from Yorkshire Water this year was due solely to her strength of feeling about river health and to show her commitment to improving the company’s performance.
“This decision was made out of principle and was made before the financial results had even been completed or any decision by the independent remuneration committee on what a bonus might have been.”
Shaw’s former boss, National Grid’s chief executive, John Pettigrew, was criticised last week for receiving a pay bump to more than £7m as households struggle to pay their energy bills.
