Aer Lingus chief executive Mr Michael Foley discussed his next move with legal and other advisers last night after his effective suspension.
Mr Foley's spokesman declined to comment yesterday when asked whether he would attend work this morning.
A board subcommittee has advised Mr Foley that he is not required to attend work or perform his duties while it examines a report which upheld two allegations of sexual harassment against him. The report also found there was no evidence to support Mr Foley's allegation of a conspiracy against him by figures within the trade union movement.
The subcommittee must conclude its deliberations on Friday, seven days after it was activated. Once its findings are delivered, Mr Foley will have 48 hours to appeal.
While this examination is pending, the senior executive team at Aer Lingus will answer directly to the airline's chairman, Mr Bernie Cahill.
It was still unclear last night whether Mr Foley would seek an injunction to block the effective suspension. No action was ruled out, his spokesman said.
While Mr Foley is expected to appear before the subcommittee this week, a meeting has not yet been scheduled.
He is understood to have had no contact with the company since receiving a letter from the subcommittee on Friday.
In a letter to the company last Thursday, Mr Foley's legal advisers called for an appeal to be heard by a nominee or nominees of the Bar Council or Law Society.
The subcommittee has been empowered by the Aer Lingus board to take such action as it deems necessary in the light of the report, by a separate subcommittee which investigated the allegations.
The Aer Lingus directors on the subcommittee examining the report are Mr Des Richardson, an executive director of Marlborough Group; a business consultant, Mr Chris Wall; and the chairman of the RTE Authority, Mr Patrick Wright. Mr Richardson and Mr Wall are close to the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern.
The directors who conducted the investigation were Dr John Keane, a consultant ophthalmic physician with the Midland Health Authority, and Ms Rose Hynes, who works with AerFi, formerly GPA Group. Dr Keane is a nominee of the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke. Ms O'Rourke is expected to be briefed on the situation by Mr Cahill this week.
Mr Foley's spokesman said: "Our position has not changed from the statement we issued on Thursday. Our position remains as stated."
That statement argued natural justice had not been served in the report of the investigating subcommittee.
It accused the subcommittee of arbitrary, selective and subjective use of evidence and deviation from the substantive elements of the allegations.
The first complaint against Mr Foley was made in February by a worker-director at the airline, Ms Joan Loughnane. The second was made in March by a staff member in the company's head office at Dublin Airport.
