Who is Shauna Burns? Tech exec fired for sleeping in a sauna in Austria now set to win £76 million in compensation

Shannon Burns, a former Gitpod vice-president of engineering, is seeking £76 million in compensation after being dismissed following a work trip where she slept in a sauna. A UK tribunal has allowed her to pursue the claim, which Gitpod is challenging.

Shannon Burns, a senior technology executive who was fired after sleeping in a sauna during a work trip, has recently won the right to pursue £76 million (roughly ₹964 crore) in 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 largest-ever payout against Gitpod, a company now owned by artificial intelligence (AI) firm OpenAI.

Here's what we know

Burns, who was dismissed from her £220,000-a-year role in 2023, served as the 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 an off-site team-building trip in Lofer, Austria, in April 2023. During the event, CEO Johannes Landgraf and other staff members consumed alcohol. However, one evening, Burns, who had also been drinking, could not access her room after forgetting her key.

The employment tribunal was told that Burns' ADHD resulted in a "great deal of forgetfulness" and that she would "persistently" lose items, due to which she had to sleep in a sauna that night. She told the tribunal, "My male colleagues were drinking alcohol/drunk at the offsite, but I was the only one who was dismissed."

Following the trip, Gitpod's CEO reportedly raised concerns about what he described as her “lack of professional accountability” and asked Burns to leave the company.

She developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following her dismissal from Gitpod. The report said Burns has since left the technology sector and is seeking £76 million in compensation, calculated based on her estimated lost future earnings.

However, Burns has yet to receive the compensation, claiming that her former employer has used “aggressive litigation tactics” to prolong the proceedings and exhaust her. The OpenAI-owned company is reportedly seeking to cap the compensation she can claim at £1 million through a legal application that her lawyers have described as “oppressive.”

Dismissing Gitpod's application, the Birmingham Employment Tribunal has paved the way for Burns to formally pursue the compensation. Additionally, the tribunal has ordered the company to reveal to Burns the value of its recent sale to OpenAI.

A look at Shannon Burns' career

Burns also has shares in Gitpod, which are reportedly worth about £2.6 million and could rise to £21 million after four years. Before joining Gitpod, she held roles at Silicon Valley companies, including Slack and Lyft.

She joined Gitpod in late 2022 and took on the role of vice-president of engineering, earning a £220,000 salary with a £78,000 annual bonus.

The case now moves towards determining whether Burns will receive the £76 million compensation she is seeking, with the tribunal yet to decide the final amount.

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