Shannon Burns, the former VP of Engineering at Gitpod, has secured the right to pursue a staggering Rs 9,637 crore in compensation. The figure, derived from projected lost earnings and equity value, could become the largest award ever handed down by a British employment tribunal. This outcome follows a Birmingham Employment Tribunal ruling that her 2023 dismissal was rooted in disability discrimination, specifically her ADHD, rather than professional misconduct.
The incident that triggered her firing was bizarre. In April 2023, during a team-building trip to Lofer, Austria, Burns was drinking alcohol and forgot her room key. Locked out, she slept in a sauna that night. Gitpod CEO Johannes Landgraf cited this as a failure of professional accountability, leading to her termination in June 2023. But the tribunal viewed the situation differently, noting her pre-existing condition and the lack of reasonable accommodations.
Gitpod fought back hard. The company argued that Burns’ claim was "palpable nonsense" and moved to cap her damages at Rs 12.68 crore. They claimed her calculation of future earnings lacked reasonable prospect of success. Employment Judge Rachel Wedderspoon rejected this, pointing to Burns’ exceptionally high pay history and her 0.85% shareholding in the startup. The judge noted that if Gitpod were acquired by OpenAI for Rs 3,836.76 crore, Burns’ shares could be worth Rs 267.13 crore in four years alone.
The legal battle has taken a personal toll. Burns has left the tech industry and is retraining as a therapist. Her lawyer, Tara Grossman, framed the victory as a necessary correction, stating the valuation reflects what Burns would have earned had she not been dismissed because of her disabilities. The court acknowledged the claim’s unusual size but refused to dismiss it without expert financial evidence. The final amount remains undetermined, but the path to a potentially historic payout is now open.