The director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Tony Danker has stepped aside from the role while the business lobby group investigates allegations relating to his workplace conduct.
The body said he had requested to leave the role while a number of allegations were examined.
They came to light, the CBI said, after a previous allegation that was made in January was investigated and “dealt with comprehensively, in line with CBI procedure”, a statement explained.
It continued: “The CBI investigation determined that the issue did not require escalation to a disciplinary process”.
But it added: “On March 2, the CBI was made aware of new reports regarding Tony Danker’s workplace conduct.
“We have now taken steps to initiate an independent investigation into these new matters. 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 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.”
Mr Danker was appointed to lead Britain’s biggest employers’ group in 2020.
The former Treasury adviser had spent the previous three years trying to tackle Britain’s poor productivity record at Be the Business.
