{"id":1314273,"date":"2026-09-27T12:16:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T06:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?p=1314273"},"modified":"2026-09-27T12:16:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T06:46:50","slug":"uk-techie-fired-for-sleeping-in-sauna-during-work-trip-demands-rs-964-crore-compensation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/uk-techie-fired-for-sleeping-in-sauna-during-work-trip-demands-rs-964-crore-compensation\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Techie Fired For Sleeping In Sauna During Work Trip Demands Rs 964 Crore Compensation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A former senior technology executive in the UK is seeking around Rs 964 crore in compensation after she was dismissed following an unusual incident during a company trip to Austria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"UK<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Shannon Burns, former Vice President of Engineering at software company Gitpod, was fired in 2023 after she lost her hotel room key during a team-building trip and eventually slept in a sauna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Did The Sauna Incident Happen?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The incident took place during a company retreat in Lofer, Austria, in April 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to reports, Burns had been drinking with colleagues and later realised that she could not access her hotel room after losing her key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of waking colleagues or hotel staff, she ended up sleeping in a sauna overnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After returning from the trip, Gitpod’s CEO raised concerns about what he described as a lack of professional accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burns was dismissed from her role in June 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burns Has ADHD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burns has ADHD and subsequently brought a disability discrimination case against Gitpod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, the Birmingham Employment Tribunal found that her dismissal was connected to her disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The finding allowed Burns to pursue compensation from the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She has also argued that she was treated differently from male colleagues who had consumed alcohol during the same work trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Is She Seeking Rs 964 Crore?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burns is seeking \u00a376 million, approximately Rs 964 crore, in damages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The amount is based largely on calculations of her potential future earnings, along with losses related to salary, equity and other compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was earning around \u00a3220,000 a year when she was dismissed, in addition to other compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her legal team argues that the dismissal significantly disrupted her technology career and future earning potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burns has since left the technology industry and is retraining to become a therapist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gitpod Wanted To Cap The Claim<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gitpod challenged the enormous compensation figure and asked the tribunal to restrict the potential claim to \u00a31 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company argued that the \u00a376 million calculation was extraordinary and that the amount above \u00a31 million had little reasonable prospect of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Employment Judge Rachel Wedderspoon rejected the application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judge noted Burns’ exceptionally high earnings history and said her claim included potential losses involving both salary and equity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her Gitpod Shares Could Be Worth Millions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another major component of the case involves Burns’ ownership stake in Gitpod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tribunal heard that she held approximately 0.85% of the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gitpod was subsequently acquired by OpenAI for around $400 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tribunal considered calculations suggesting that Burns’ stake could have been worth millions of pounds, with its potential value increasing substantially under certain future scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rs 964 Crore Has Not Been Awarded<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Importantly, Burns has not been awarded Rs 964 crore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tribunal has only allowed her to formally pursue the compensation claim at a later remedy hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final amount will depend on evidence and the tribunal’s assessment of her losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case could nevertheless become one of the largest employment tribunal compensation cases in Britain if the full amount were eventually awarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Landmark Employment Case<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unusual circumstances of the dismissal have attracted significant attention, but the legal dispute ultimately centres on disability discrimination, career losses and compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case also highlights how employment tribunals can consider long-term earnings and equity when assessing potential damages in highly paid technology roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Gitpod engineering executive Shannon Burns is seeking around Rs 964 crore after winning a disability discrimination case linked to her 2023 dismissal. She was fired after sleeping in a sauna during a company trip to Austria. A tribunal has allowed her to pursue the \u00a376 million claim, but no final compensation has been awarded. A separate hearing will determine the eventual amount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Image Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A former senior technology executive in the UK is seeking around Rs 964 crore in compensation after she was dismissed following an unusual incident during a company trip to Austria. Shannon Burns, former Vice President of Engineering at software company Gitpod, was fired in 2023 after she lost her hotel room key during a team-building […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":1314279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[10613,90],"class_list":["post-1314273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-sauna","tag-uk"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUK Techie Fired For Sleeping In Sauna During Work Trip Demands Rs 964 Crore Compensation - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/uk-techie-fired-for-sleeping-in-sauna-during-work-trip-demands-rs-964-crore-compensation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UK Techie Fired For Sleeping In Sauna During Work Trip Demands Rs 964 Crore Compensation - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A former senior technology executive in the UK is seeking around Rs 964 crore in compensation after she was dismissed following an unusual incident during a company trip to Austria. 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