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Engineer Allowed to Pursue £76m After Tribunal Rejects Gitpod Cap

The judge ordered Gitpod to disclose the OpenAI sale value because the figure will shape Burns’s claim for lost salary and equity at a later remedy hearing.

Overview

  • A Birmingham Employment Tribunal has dismissed Gitpod’s bid to limit Shannon Burns’s claim, clearing the way for her to formally seek £76,071,992 in compensation.
  • The tribunal previously found in 2025 that Burns was unlawfully dismissed because of disabilities and left open the level of compensation for a later hearing.
  • Judge Rachel Wedderspoon refused the company’s deposit order request after saying the tribunal cannot reject Burns’s projected losses without expert pay and medical evidence.
  • The judge ordered Gitpod to disclose the value of its sale to OpenAI because Burns’s 0.85% shareholding affects the equity component of her claimed losses.
  • Burns says the claim covers lost future salary, lost equity and injury to feelings, she has left the tech industry with PTSD, and a separate remedy hearing and Gitpod’s appeals will decide any final award.