We couldn’t do what we do without our brilliant people. In our 2024 People Survey, we outperformed the Civil Service benchmarks on all 10 measures. 77% recommend Ofwat as a great place to work. 95% say they do interesting, engaging work. Our score for inclusion and fair treatment is 88%. 95% say they do interesting, engaging work, and 90% agree that they decide how they do their work.
Introduction
We’re Ofwat. We regulate the water sector in England and Wales. Our role is to enable, incentivise and hold companies to account so they provide the best for customers, communities and the environment.
Shaping the future of water regulation
The water sector is entering a new chapter. Following the Independent Water Commission’s final report, the UK government has set out a bold new direction – one that brings together expertise from across the sector to deliver better outcomes for customers and the environment.
Ofwat is working in collaboration with the government and other regulators to help establish a new body for England, combining our strengths with those of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Environment Agency, and Natural England. We’re also continuing to engage with the Welsh Government to support future decisions for Wales.
While these changes take shape, our mission remains the same: to hold water companies to account, drive performance, and ensure the sector delivers real value for customers, communities, and the environment. If you’re passionate about making a difference, this is a unique moment to join us and help shape the future of water, and together we can continue to make a positive impact.
What we do and why it matters
Here at Ofwat, we’re working to:
- Put the environment at the heart of everything we do. Making sure water companies protect and improve the environment, using digital and data innovations.
- Keep water affordable – for everyone.
- Understand customer needs. By talking to household and business customers and carrying out research.
- Tackle challenges using innovative methods, like nature-based solutions or how we can use data better.
- Transform water companies’ performance including on leakage, sewer flooding and customer service, making sure they provide greater public value.
- Oversee billions of pounds of water sector investment across England and Wales through our price reviews.
Awards, Accreditations and Partnerships
Partnership with Carers UK
Ofwat is part of the ‘Employers for Carers’ forum. This means that we benefit from best-in-class knowledge to create an environment which supports our people who are carers. This helps them to feel seen, valued, and to open a dialogue around their caring responsibilities.
Carers’ Passport
The Civil Service introduced the Carers’ Passport to support anyone who has caring responsibilities. This provides an opportunity to reflect on and document your responsibilities as a carer, the impact your caring responsibilities have on your work, and possible reasonable adjustments that may help you successfully work and maintain your caring responsibilities.
Disability Confident
Ofwat is a Disability Confident Employer. Disability Confident is a government scheme designed to encourage employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with health conditions. You can find out more about what this means here.