CBI director-general, Tony Danker, has stepped aside from his role as investigations get underway into complaints over his workplace conduct.
According to reports in The Guardian, the decision to hire a law firm to investigate Danker comes after a formal complaint made in January from a female CBI employee, who alleged he made unwanted contact with her and considered it to be sexual harassment. It also follows further alleged informal reports of concerns over his behaviour.
The CBI has confirmed that in January this year it was made aware of an allegation regarding the workplace conduct of the director-general. The business organisation said: “The allegation was investigated thoroughly and was dealt with comprehensively, in line with CBI procedure. The CBI investigation determined that the issue did not require escalation to a disciplinary process.”
On March 2 the CBI was made aware of new reports regarding Danker’s workplace conduct: “We have now taken steps to initiate an independent investigation into these new matters,” the CBI said. “Tony Danker asked to step aside from his role as director-general of the CBI while the independent investigation into these matters takes place.”
The organisation added: “The CBI takes all matters of workplace conduct extremely seriously but it is important to stress that until this investigation is complete, any new allegations remain unproven and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”
