A female executive who was dismissed for allegedly becoming so inebriated at a work event that she slept in a sauna was discriminated against due to her ADHD, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Shannon Burns’ claims for failure to make reasonable adjustments and discrimination arising from disability succeeded, but her claim of direct sex discrimination failed, while a claim for unfair dismissal was struck out because she had worked for her employer for less than two years.
Burns, who earned £220,000 a year as vice-president of engineering at German firm Gitpod, was dismissed for her behaviour at an off-site event in Lofer, Austria, in 2023.
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She had enjoyed a successful career to this point becoming, in 2016, Slack’s first developer relations community manager and later engineering manager.
She went on to work at Flatfile and Universe, where she said reasonable adjustments had been made for her, including access to mental health professionals and removal of restrictions on time off for sickness.
Neurodivergence
The tribunal heard there were many employees at Gitpod with neurodivergence and a history of mental health conditions who were thriving. The leadership team consisted of multiple individuals with ADHD. One senior employee had a psychiatric diagnosis of severe recurring depression, anxiety disorder, PTSD and OCD.
Burns was recruited by Gitpod in September 2022. She told head of people Eva Hyder that she had ADHD and dyslexia, but had not mentioned requiring accommodations. However, those who interviewed her for the role at Gitpod said they did not recall Burns telling them about her ADHD and needs.
The working style at Gitpod would be “asynchronous”, ie remote and without all team members being online at the same time, because of time zone and working hours differences. There was an expectation she would be self-sufficient in the role following a 90-day onboarding period. She officially joined the company in January 2023, just as the firm was making redundancies. She had responsibility for 27 people with five direct reports, but her first role was to play a part in ensuring the layoffs went smoothly and scheduling a listening session for remaining employees.
Burns requested an ADHD coach in February 2023 after feeling overwhelmed with her workload and experiencing a high level of anxiety. Concerns were raised in March 2023 about her performance, with Johannes Landgraf, the Gitpod chief executive, who was not aware of her disability, telling a colleague that Burns was “not a superstar” and that he would not hire her again.
Landgraf was not aware of her disability at the time, the tribunal was told.
Teambuilding event
At the teambuilding event in Austria in April 2023, Burns and other staff, including Landgraf, drank alcohol. It was noted Burns, who had been experiencing a “very difficult period” in her life at the time, had cried and appeared drunk at the event, including “slurring her words”.
Later that evening, Burns went back to her room but could not find her key and was unable to wake her roommate to be let in. She eventually gave up and went to sleep in the sauna.
The tribunal heard that Burns later received a message from a senior male executive who said she must “lead the team by example” and “stay in control”. He went on to say that he had heard comments that Burns had “got too drunk and fallen asleep in the sauna room”.
After the event, Landgraf had concerns about Burns’s “lack of professional accountability” and behaviours which were “incompatible with executive responsibility”. In June, Burns was invited to a meeting where she was dismissed.
She was told her behaviour had “eroded trust and confidence” and she should “lead by example” as a senior employee of the software development company.
‘Tech bro’ culture
Burns told the tribunal that her male colleagues were “far more intoxicated” and faced no punishment. She also claimed there was a “tech bro” culture at the company.
In her witness statement, Burns said: “My male colleagues were drinking alcohol/drunk at the off-site, but I was the one who was dismissed.” The judge said Burns had accepted her “impairments were exacerbated by the consumption of alcohol”.
Employment Judge Rachel Wedderspoon, said Burns’s ADHD had contributed to a “great deal of forgetfulness”, including losing the keys to her hotel room on the night of the off-site function.
Wedderspoon acknowledged Burns had consumed “quite a lot” of alcohol on the night she was locked out of her room. “However, being disorganised and forgetful may be features of ADHD,” she said.
“Insofar as [Burns] was criticised for being locked out in the evening the tribunal finds that this was likely in part to be as a result of the combination of her alcohol consumption and her forgetfulness which is something arising from her disability of ADHD.”
The tribunal dismissed her claims of sex discrimination. “She displayed a lack of professionalism, namely lack of executive presence as vice president. That had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that [Burns] is woman,” Wedderspoon said.
A hearing to decide Burns’s compensation will take place at a later date.
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