Shannon Burns sacked from her £220k job after spending night in sauna on boozy work trip

A tribunal has ruled that Shannon Burns, a high-flying executive sacked from her £220,000 role at software company Gitpod, was discriminated against due to her ADHD.

Burns, previously employed at Silicon Valley giant Slack, was headhunted in late 2022 as Vice President of Engineering at Gitpod. She was offered a lucrative package, including equity potentially worth more than £30 million. However, she soon complained about the firm’s “male-dominated” and “tech bro” culture.

The case arose after an off-site company trip to Lofer, Austria, in April 2023. During the trip, Burns became intoxicated, misplaced her keys, and eventually slept in a sauna after being locked out of her room. She claimed that while male colleagues were “far more intoxicated,” none faced disciplinary action.

Her employer later dismissed her, citing that her conduct had “eroded trust and confidence” in her leadership. Gitpod denied her dismissal was linked to the incident, but the tribunal found otherwise. Employment Judge Rachel Wedderspoon ruled that Burns’s ADHD, which causes forgetfulness and disorganisation, contributed to her losing her keys.

The tribunal determined that her dismissal was, in part, linked to her disability. While rejecting her claims of sex discrimination, the judge stated: “She displayed a lack of professionalism namely lack of executive presence as a Vice President. That had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that [Ms Burns] is a woman.”

Burns is now set to receive compensation, with a remedy hearing scheduled at a later date.