Pharmacy worker attacked, then sacked
First she was beaten by a rough sleeper in her workplace; then her employer fired her for talking about it.
The Christchurch woman suffered a broken finger, posttraumatic stress disorder and later had a heart attack. She was dismissed from her job at Cosmo Pharmacy on Colombo St after she shared her story with Stuff.
Nikki Denley, who was the retail manager at the store, was working one June day when a large man entered the store a couple of hours before closing time. After she tried to help him with a muddled request, he headbutted her with moderate force, hurting her nose, cheek and pushing her glasses off her face, she said. The man pushed her several times while she and a colleague tried to get him to leave, she said.
He then ‘‘up-ended’’ the slim, 1.5m-tall woman on to the floor, where she landed between a counter and some cupboards, she said.
She held her hands up in selfdefence. As the blows came down one broke her finger.
After trying to return to work, she woke one night in pain and barely able to move. In hospital she was told she had suffered a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) – a type of heart attack. ‘‘Beyond the physical injuries, this has undoubtedly caused her significant emotional stress,’’ a cardiologist wrote about Denley. ‘‘SCAD has been shown to be associated with emotional stress ... I am highly suspicious that this lady’s ordeal was associated with her SCAD.’’
Denley later spoke to Stuff about what she had been through.
Her employers, Aki Tominari and Ivanny Lo – who also own nearby South City Pharmacy – felt she had caused damage to the reputation of their business.
Eventually they fired her for what they saw as a breach of good faith, and for speaking to the media without their consent.
‘‘The article was about the homeless people, it wasn’t about Cosmo ... How can they turn that around to me bringing the company into disrepute?’’ Denley said. ‘‘If I’d been walking down the street and had been assaulted by the streeties, then I still would’ve talked to the media.’’
Police confirmed Denley’s alleged attacker was subsequently charged with injuring with intent to injure with reckless disregard, and threatening to kill. He is due to reappear in court on September 11.
Denley said she was now faced with finding a new job on top of the trauma of the attack.
‘‘I didn’t ask to be thumped. ‘‘I didn’t ask for a heart attack. ‘‘And I certainly didn’t ask, or do anything, to have my employment terminated by instant dismissal.’’ When contacted by phone, Tominari hung up. He and Lo later threatened legal action.
‘‘If you mention any of our details on your news outlet, we will be taking legal action against you and Nikki Denley.’’
Be careful talking publicly about crimes that happen at your workplace, employment lawyer Peter Cullen warns.
Christchurch woman Nikki Denley, who was fired from Cosmo Pharmacy on Colombo St after she shared her story with Stuff, could make for a case of unjustified dismissal, Cullen said.
Denley was assaulted by a homeless man at work and suffered a broken finger, posttraumatic stress disorder and later a heart attack, likely as a result of the attack.
Because she named her place of work without first contacting her employer she could be found to have committed a ‘‘breach of good faith’’ in her employment contract, Cullen said.
A breach of good faith is a legal obligation to be responsive and communicative and not mislead or deceive or do anything that might mislead or deceive.
‘‘Ordinarily if you talk to the media about something that happened at your place of work the least you’d do is talk to the employer first,’’ Cullen said.
But he said the pharmacy may still ‘‘struggle to justify’’ the dismissal.
‘‘You have to give a warning if it’s serious misconduct, which means that it seriously damaged or destroyed trust and confidence that you don’t have to give a warning [before firing someone].’’
Cullen said most people would assume if they were talking to a media outlet about getting assaulted at their place of work it ‘‘might put people off going there’’, which could give credence to it being serious misconduct. He said most cases like Denley’s were more cut and dry because of confidentiality clauses built into contracts. ‘‘If there was [such a clause] she probably wouldn’t have much of a leg to stand on.’’ There are some protections in law for those who want to blow the whistle on serious wrongdoing at work, specifically the Protected Disclosure Act. Employment contracts can’t override the act. But it only applies if the public interest is greater than the need for confidentiality.
Previous cases have been heard by the Employment Relations Authority where talking to a member of the press has led to a justified dismissal.
In 2010, Lydia Maoate, a security guard for Allied Security, went to the Dominion Post alleging her employer had encouraged staff to cheat in NZQA courses. She was fired three days later.
The article inadvertently identified Maoate because she was the only female trainee at the time. But the authority ruled that the media was not an ‘‘appropriate authority’’ and stripped her of her protections under the act.