Nikki Denley was assaulted by a rough sleeper at her place of work, then she lost her job for talking to the media about it.

First she was beaten by a rough sleeper in her workplace. Then her employer fired her for talking about it.

The Christchurch woman received a broken finger, post-traumatic stress disorder and later suffered 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 hours before closing time.

IAIN McGREGOR/STUFF Nikki Denley still struggles with the stress of being assaulted in her workplace. That has been exacerbated by the fact she lost her job for talking about what happened to her.

After she tried to help him with a muddled request, he head-butted 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 onto the floor, where she landed between a counter and some cupboards, she said.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF Denley's finger was broken in the attack, an injury a doctor would describe as generally suffered by people attempting to catch a cricket fast ball.

She held her hands up in self-defence. As one of the blows came down it broke her finger – an injury a doctor later described as one suffered mostly by cricketers attempting to catch a fast ball.

After trying to return to work, she woke in the middle of the night in pain and barely able to move. A relative rushed her to the hospital where 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.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF Aki Tominari and Ivanny Lo own Cosmo Pharmacy on Colombo St, as well as South City Pharmacy.

"SCAD has been shown to be associated with emotional stress ... I am highly suspicious that this lady's ordeal was associated with her SCAD."

When she recovered, Denley 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.

STUFF Aki Tominari declined to comment before threatening legal action.

"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, originally facing a possible male assaults female charge, 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.

STACY SQUIRES/STUFF Denley has dog Fendi and cat Jessie to keep her company while she looks for a new job.

Denley said she was now faced with finding a new job on top of the trauma of the attack.

"I'm coming up 61. How am I going to pay my bills? How am I going to live? I've still got a wee health issue that time will heal, but I need that time," she said.

"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. I've done nothing wrong."

IAIN McGREGOR/STUFF Denley says she cannot understand why her former employer thought her talking about what happened would bring the company into disrepute.

When contacted by phone, Tominari hung up. He and Lo later responded to an email request for comment with the threat of legal action.

"If you mention any of our details on your news outlet, we will be taking legal action against you and Nikki Denley."