A tech executive who lost her job after falling asleep in a sauna room during a work trip is suing her former employer for £76 million, a claim that has moved forward after a judge accepted her disability discrimination case.
Dismissal after team-building event
Shannon Burns, a former vice-president of engineering at German software firm Gitpod, was dismissed after being accused of having 'got too drunk and fallen asleep in the sauna room' following a team-building exercise and drinks party in Lofer, Austria. Burns, from Boston, lost the key to her bedroom during the event.
Burns, who has ADHD and was diagnosed in 2015, denies being drunk. She claims she lost the key because of her disability. 'I tried very hard to give them the benefit of the doubt, I tried to help them learn and recognise that the effects of their unconscious bias were illegal,' she told The Times.
Claim details and compensation
Burns's £76 million claim is based on potential lost earnings. She was on a salary of £220,000 plus an annual bonus of £78,000. A separate claim of sexual discrimination was thrown out, with the accusation of a 'lack of professionalism' deemed unrelated to her gender.
The 37-year-old, who had a decade of experience in Silicon Valley at companies including Slack and Lyft, was headhunted by Gitpod. She said she was attracted to the firm partly because of its commitment to a 'thoughtful, inclusive space' for employees.
ADHD and workplace support
When she started, Burns asked the company for an ADHD coach due to a 'worrying level of anxiety' over her workload. She was allegedly questioned about the potential costings and told to look into it herself, which she said was unhelpful.
'I was communicating that I needed help due to the overwhelm I was experiencing as a result of my disabilities, specifically referencing my ADHD, and she responded by giving me more work to do,' Burns told The Times.
She said she was 'blindsided' when the firm told her she required an 'unexpected' level of 'support and mentorship' for someone of her position. Countering claims she behaved drunk and was crying at the event, Burns said this was a reaction to being criticised by her boss and company founder, Johannes Landgraf, in front of colleagues.
'I had been asked to work 16-hour days for three days nonstop with very little sleep because of the schedule that we had to do,' she said. Judge Rachel Wedderspoon accepted that Burns's ADHD contributed to a 'great deal of forgetfulness', which was a factor in her forgetting the keys to her hotel room.
Record-breaking claim and next steps
Burns's asking amount would break records for the highest figure awarded at a UK employment tribunal. She said the latest ruling was 'incredibly validating' and that she was forced to accept a job 'six levels' below her role at Gitpod after applying for hundreds of vacancies. She claims she left that post within a year after her mental health suffered.
Judge Wedderspoon noted that OpenAI had acquired Gitpod for an estimated $400 million (£302 million). Burns held 0.85% shares in Gitpod, which could be worth $3.4 million (£2.6 million) now and $27.85 million (£21 million) in four years if the company was acquired for that amount.
Judge Wedderspoon said: 'The Tribunal finds that an award in the sum claimed by [Ms Burns] is highly unusual and the sort of award that may be more commonplace awarded in the US jurisdiction. However, the Tribunal cannot say at a summary assessment in the absence of an employment renumeration expert report or an expert medical information that [her] valuation has little reasonable prospect of success.'
A full compensation hearing is to be held at a later date, pending an appeal of the previous tribunal hearing. Gitpod has been contacted for comment.
