Shannon Burns, a former Gitpod engineering executive, won a disability discrimination case after being dismissed following an incident during a work trip in Austria, where she slept in a sauna after losing access to her room. She alleges she was treated differently from male colleagues who had also been drinking, while Gitpod said her conduct showed a lack of professional accountability. The case matters because she is seeking what could become the largest known UK Employment Tribunal payout.

Burns is seeking £76,071,992, including more than £59 million in estimated future earnings, after claiming ADHD-related difficulties contributed to her dismissal and ended her technology career. She earned £220,000 annually with a potential £78,000 bonus, and held shares whose value may have increased following Gitpod’s sale to OpenAI. The tribunal rejected Gitpod’s attempt to limit the claim to £1 million and ordered it to disclose details of the sale.