'My Male Colleagues Were Drinking Too, But I Was The Only One Dismissed': Sacked Tech VP Could Win Record £76m Payout

A former vice-president of engineering who was sacked after sleeping in a hotel sauna during a company retreat has cleared a major legal hurdle in her bid for what could become the largest employment tribunal payout in British history.

The incident that led to her dismissal

Shannon Burns, who has ADHD, was let go from Gitpod, a software company since acquired by OpenAI in June 2023, months after an off-site team-building trip to Lofer, Austria, The Independent reports. During the trip, several employees, including CEO Johannes Landgraf, had been drinking, and Burns, who had also had alcohol that evening, found herself locked out of her room after misplacing her key. She ended up spending the night in the hotel sauna. The Independent reported that her ADHD contributed to a pattern of forgetfulness and repeatedly misplacing belongings, and that Landgraf later cited concerns about her "lack of professional accountability" following the trip.

Burns earned £220,000 a year plus a £78,000 bonus in the role, having previously worked at Slack and Lyft before joining Gitpod in late 2022.

Tribunal sides with Burns on discrimination

In 2025, the Birmingham Employment Tribunal ruled that Burns had been dismissed because of her disability, upholding her discrimination claim, per The Independent's report. She has said she was singled out despite male colleagues also drinking that night, and has since developed PTSD and left the tech sector altogether, retraining as a therapist.

Gitpod's bid to cap compensation rejected

At a more recent hearing, Gitpod sought to limit her potential compensation to £1 million by applying for a "deposit order", a mechanism that can require a claimant to pay a deposit to continue pursuing damages above a certain threshold, and which can also see a tribunal rule that claims beyond that sum have little chance of succeeding. The company argued Burns's £76 million claim was "extraordinary" and dismissed the reasoning behind it as "palpable nonsense," The Independent reported, citing Gitpod's submission.

Employment Judge Rachel Wedderspoon rejected Gitpod's application, noting that Burns's high earning history meant her claim - based on lost salary and lost equity - could not be dismissed without further expert evidence, according to the outlet. The judge acknowledged that an award of this scale would be unusual in the UK but said it could not be ruled out at this stage.

Equity in Gitpod adds to the sum

The tribunal was told that OpenAI's acquisition of Gitpod was reportedly worth around $400 million (£302 million). Based on Burns's 0.85 per cent stake in the company, the judge estimated her shares could be worth roughly $3.4 million (£2.6 million) today, potentially rising to $27.85 million (£21 million) over four years, The Independent said. Gitpod has also been directed to disclose the actual sale value to Burns.

If successful, Burns's claim would dwarf the current UK record for an employment tribunal award, which stands at £4.58 million, per the report.

Lawyer calls Gitpod's tactics "oppressive"

Burns's employment lawyer, Tara Grossman, welcomed the tribunal's decision, telling The Independent that the £76 million figure reflects a detailed calculation of Burns's lost earning potential in an industry known for outsized compensation. Grossman also accused Gitpod of using aggressive litigation tactics to prolong proceedings, calling the company's attempt to cap the claim 'oppressive', particularly since Gitpod is aware of what Burns's shares would now be worth but has yet to share that figure with her.

Published on: Friday, September 25, 2026, 02:41 PM IST