A tech executive who was fired after sleeping in a sauna during a work trip has won the right to pursue £76 million (nearly ₹ 964 crore) in compensation , which could be the largest payout in British employment tribunal history.
She later won a disability discrimination case against the company. Gitpod, a company owned by OpenAI, attempted to restrict the compensation that she could seek to £1m. She eventually slept in a sauna that night. The judge also noted that Burns’ calculations include potential salary and equity losses.
Shannon Burns, former vice president of engineering at Gitpod, was dismissed from her £220,000-a-year (around ₹ 2.7 crore) role in June 2023 after an incident during a team-building trip to Austria, according to a report by The Independent. However, the Birmingham Employment Tribunal has now rejected the company’s application, meaning she can formally pursue £76 million in compensation. Burns, who has ADHD, travelled to Lofer, Austria, for a team-building event in April 2023. The judge noted that Gitpod was acquired by OpenAI for about $400 million (£302 million), and that Burns held a 0.85% stake in the company. Based on the acquisition value, the judge said that Burns’ stake could be worth about $3.4 million (£2.6 million), potentially rising to $27.85 million (£21 million) in four years.
She had been drinking alcohol during the trip and forgot her room key one evening, leaving her unable to access her room, according to the tribunal. However, employment Judge Rachel Wedderspoon rejected the application, noting Burns’ “exceptionally high pay history” and her case that she could have continued earning a substantial salary in the technology sector.
