The head of the fundraising platform JustGiving has been suspended after allegations that he harassed a member of staff on a company night out in June.
Neil Bannister, who took over as managing director last year, has not been at work since the incident.
JustGiving was bought by the US software company Blackbaud for £95m last October.
Bannister has worked at JustGiving since 2005, and was promoted during the Blackbaud takeover after the company founders Anne-Marie Huby and Zarine Kharas left the organisation.
The Guardian has been told Bannister was suspended after an incident in June at the Lord Nelson on Union Street, in Southwark, close to the JustGiving offices.
A Spokesperson for JustGiving said: “Per company policy, and in the interest of the privacy of our employees, JustGiving does not comment on individual personnel matters.”
Bannister declined to comment.
Justgiving, which was founded in 2001, is a major operator in the fundraising world. It has been used to raise more than £3bn in 164 countries for more than 26,000 charities.
The company takes 5% of all donations to charities, becoming a profitable private company. The technology around charitable giving has evolved rapidly in recent years. Under the JustGiving payment system, it is easy for UK taxpayers to add the Gift Aid tax rebate to their donation, which effectively adds 25% to the donation. JustGiving calculates its fees after Gift Aid has been added.
Online giving platforms have boomed in recent years, because despite the fees charged by companies, it is relatively low-cost form of fundraising. Online platforms include GoFundMe, Givey and MyDonate, which is run by BT.
The charity sector has been hit by serious criticism in recent months, after scandals around Oxfam and other humanitarian aid agencies. Oxfam staff were dismissed for exploiting vulnerable women in Haiti in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake.
The scandals have hit fundraising hard. In February, Oxfam’s chief executive told MPs that the charity had lost 7,000 donors.
