Woman loses sex-harassment case

Shannon Henry admits talking about 'getting pissed' with 15-year-old schoolgirls - because they were friends. Photo / Christine Cornege

A 50-year-old female bus driver sacked for sexual harassment denies the allegations - but admits she talked about getting "pissed" with 15-year-old schoolgirls.

Shannon Henry was dismissed from Hamilton company GO Bus in May last year after claims she sexually harassed two male drivers.

Her colleagues complained about her flirting and walking around in her underwear when they stayed together in Ohakune for a work assignment.

GO Bus fired Ms Henry after the claims, but she appealed to the Employment Relations Authority claiming unjustified dismissal.

The authority dismissed her claim in a decision released yesterday.

After the release of the decision, Ms Henry told the Herald the "unwelcome sexual flirtation or suggestions" never took place.

The allegations from her former co-workers were in retaliation for complaints she made about them, the Hamilton woman said.

"It absolutely did not happen in any way, shape or form ... I did not do it."

Court documents show Ms Henry laid complaints against the two men, claiming they drank and took drugs before driving school buses.

She said she walked around in a T-shirt and underwear only when she was leaving the bathroom to go to bed.

"If you saw the size of me, you would know that I was not flaunting around in my underwear," she told the Herald.

Neither of the two men who made the sexual harassment complaints attended the hearing, which Ms Henry believes is proof their claims were false.

GO Bus' decision to sack her was ruled fair and justified, but Ms Henry - now a taxi driver - says she will appeal.

Last night, however, she refused to deny complaints against her that she showed high school students pornography, or talked about getting "pissed" with some of them.

However, she said the term "pornography" was incorrect.

She said she was showing the girls a picture of her son when they snatched the photos from her hands, and in the bundle was a photo of a naked man.

"The photos weren't suitable to be showing schoolchildren, and so I snatched them out of their hands, but of course they said I was showing them [pornography]."

Ms Henry told the Herald she did tell the 15-year-old schoolgirls she would "get pissed" with them because they were friends.

"Me and a couple of girls that were involved in those comments had gotten a little friendly and so even that wasn't as bad as it was made to sound."

GO Bus could not be reached for comment.