Yahoo Finance 
Ousted CBI chief Tony Danker prepares to sue over dismissal
The former head of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is preparing to sue the embattled business lobby group over his firing in April amid a sexual harassment scandal that has threatened the organisation’s future.
Tony Danker is consulting lawyers as he considers making a compensation claim in the Employment Tribunal, the Sunday Times reported.
It comes ahead of a crunch vote on Tuesday in which remaining members of the lobby group will determine its future.
The CBI has asked its members to approve a plan put forward by new director-general Rain Newton-Smith on how to reform itself.
The organisation has been left reeling from a series of reports of historic sexual misconduct and harrasment at the organisation, including two alleged instances of rape.
The incidents took place before Mr Danker was put in charge of the organisation in 2020. He was fired over a separate, unrelated complaint.
Mr Danker was sacked in April after a press report claiming he had made inappropriate comments to a junior female colleague and had viewed the Instagram accounts of some employees.
Mr Danker had said to a junior colleague he had dreamt about the pair of them doing karaoke together following a Christmas party where they had done the activity, the Sunday Times reported.
He had been investigated in January and cleared. However, the CBI subsequently sacked him saying that his conduct “fell short of that expected of the director-general”.
Mr Danker later said he had been made the “fall guy” for the scandal at the CBI and had been “thrown under a bus”. He has apologized for making employees feel uncomfortable but said allegations against him had been “distorted” .
The CBI did not comment on the report that Mr Danker was preparing to take legal action, while Mr Danker did not respond to a request for comment. Employment Tribunal cases must be brought within three months of a dismissal.
Ms Newton-Smith said on Sunday that reports of sexual misconduct at the CBI had been “absolutely devastating” to read but said she hoped the organisation was “emerging from what has been a really deep and painful crisis”.
“We’re showing members we have the right culture,” she said.
On Tuesday, CBI members will vote on whether to approve reforms proposed by Ms Newton-Smith. If the organisation does not receive a majority of votes in favour of the proposals, the group risks being wound down.
It is already planning to cut around a third of staff after losing thousands of members following the allegations.
According to Sky News, the German industrial giant Siemens is co-ordinating a letter of support from members including Microsoft, which will be published later on Sunday.