Management at Allied Security said she had breached the company’s IT policy for social media use, potentially harming the company’s reputation and business.
Jenna-Louise Crothers, 39, posted on the NZ Security Officers Support Facebook group and made a video on her personal TikTok about alleged sexual harassment from another security guard.
She also claimed in the post Allied had not done enough to investigate her complaint about the alleged sexual harassment.
“Security guards deal with a lot of abuse from people, that’s part of the job, but it should never be guard on guard,” Crothers told The Star.
She had considered taking legal action against Allied for unjustified dismissal, but decided the cost and effort was too much.
Allied Security South Island manager James Freeman told The Star it is company policy to not comment on employment matters.
In her posts, Crothers wanted to share her experience with security guards and encourage others to speak out.
“I’m quite a strong-willed person. I won’t be told that I can’t stand up for myself,” she said.
Crothers was working a night shift in late September when she claimed unwanted sexual comments were made to her by another security guard. She reported it later that day to management.
Management investigated but stated in Crothers’ termination notice they could not corroborate whether the comments were made.
In documentation provided to Crothers during the disciplinary process, management said the “accused was given clear directions of how his conduct should be going forward”.
But Crothers believes the investigation was not thorough enough and the other guard should have faced disciplinary action.
Crothers said alleged comments came out of a discussion she was having with the other security guard about needing to save money for surgery.
She claims he told her: “Why don’t you start an OnlyFans page, I would subscribe to that.”
OnlyFans is a subscription service site mainly used for adult content.
Crothers felt increasingly uncomfortable as the guard allegedly continued to make sexual comments. She said he would pay for her to wear her uniform on OnlyFans.
He got louder and “more belligerent” at one point saying, “How about taking your pants off as well? You’d be richer than working,” she said.
In her TikTok video she said her managers needed to “do better” to address sexual harassment and accused them of sweeping the situation under the carpet.
On Facebook, Crothers asked to speak with other Allied guards who had similar experiences.
She was summoned to a disciplinary meeting on October 5, and three days later she was dismissed.
Crothers said the alleged harassment incident and being fired has affected her mental health.
“They have made me feel really terrible and embarrassed for reporting harassment.”
She wants to encourage people experiencing workplace harassment, especially security guards, to go public.
“People shouldn’t be afraid of losing their jobs for speaking out.”
