Who is Shauna Burns? Tech exec fired for sleeping in a sauna in Austria is now set to win £76m in damages | Today’s news
Shannon Burns, a technology executive who was fired after falling asleep in a sauna during a work trip, was recently awarded £76m (roughly ₹964 crore) as compensation, which could be the largest payout ever awarded by a British employment tribunal.
According to The Independent, Burns, who suffered disability discrimination, could be in line for the biggest ever payout against Gitpod, the company now owned by artificial intelligence (AI) firm OpenAI.
Here’s what we know
Burns, who was made redundant from her £220,000-a-year role in 2023, served as vice-president of engineering. The dismissal came after she slept in a sauna during a team-building work trip to Austria.
According to the report, Burns, who has ADHD, went on a team trip in Lofer, Austria in April 2023. During the event, CEO Johannes Landgraf and other employees consumed alcohol. However, one evening Burns, who had also been drinking, was unable to get into her room after forgetting her key.
The employment tribunal was told that Burns’ ADHD resulted in her being “extremely forgetful” and that she was “persistently” losing things which forced her to sleep in a sauna that night. She told the tribunal: “My male colleagues were drinking alcohol/drunk on site but I was the only one who was let go.”
Along the way, Gitpod’s CEO reportedly raised concerns about what he described as her “lack of professional responsibility” and asked Burns to leave the company.
After being released from Gitpod, she developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The report said Burns has since left the tech sector and is seeking £76m in damages, calculated on the basis of her estimated lost future earnings.
However, Burns has yet to receive compensation and claims her former employer used “aggressive litigation tactics” to prolong the proceedings and exhaust her. The OpenAI-owned company is reportedly seeking to limit the compensation it can claim to £1m through a legal application that its lawyers have described as “oppressive”.
Birmingham Employment Tribunal dismissed Gitpod’s application, paving the way for Burns to formally seek compensation. Additionally, the tribunal ordered the company to disclose to Burns the value of its recent sale of OpenAI.
A look at Shannon Burns’ career
Burns also has shares in Gitpod which are said to be worth around £2.6m and could rise to £21m after four years. Before joining Gitpod, she held roles at Silicon Valley companies including Slack and Lyft.
She joined Gitpod in late 2022, taking on the role of VP of Engineering, earning a salary of £220,000 with an annual bonus of £78,000.
The case is now moving towards determining whether Burns will receive the £76 million in damages she is seeking, with the final amount yet to be decided by the tribunal.
