Latest news with #NHSBloodandTransplantservice
NDTV
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
UK Woman Wins Rs 34 Lakh Compensation After Colleague Compares Her To Darth Vader
Quick Reads Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. A UK woman received £28,989 in compensation for workplace comparison. The tribunal ruled the Darth Vader comparison caused harm to Ms. Rooke. Judge found the nickname was not perceived positively by the employees. A UK woman has won almost 30,000 pounds (approximately Rs 34 lakh) in compensation after being compared to 'Star Wars' villain Darth Vader by her co-worker. According to the BBC, Lorna Rooke, an NHS blood donation worker, brought a complaint against her co-worker, who had taken a Star Wars-themed online personality test on her behalf and told colleagues that Ms Rooke fell into Darth Vader's category. She claimed that the comparison made her unpopular among coworkers and contributed to her decision to resign a month later. Now, an employment tribunal in Croydon, south London, found that the incident was a "Detriment", meaning it caused harm or a negative impact to Ms Rooke. "Darth Vader is a legendary villain of the Star Wars series, and being aligned with his personality is insulting," employment judge Kathryn Ramsden said, per the BBC. The tribunal heard that in 2003, Ms Rooke began working for the NHS Blood and Transplant service as a training and practice supervisor. In 2021, members of her team took a Star Wars-themed Myers-Briggs questionnaire as a team-building exercise. Ms Rooke did not participate as she had to take a personal phone call. When she returned, her colleague Amander Harber had filled out he test on her behalf and announced she had the same personality as the 'Star Wars' villain. The Darth Vader category was described in the quiz as a "very focused individual who brings the team together". However, the judge was not convinced that the categorisation had any positive attributes. Judge Kathryn Ramsden said that on the basis that the test was done on the perception of another colleague and then shared with the group, it was "little wonder" that Ms Rooke was upset by it. The tribunal rejected Ms Rooke's claim that the "Darth Vader incident" prompted her to quit her job. Ms Rooke won the case for detriment after a protected disclosure but lost claims for unfair dismissal, disability discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments. She was awarded 28,989.61 pounds in compensation, as per The Independent. "We acknowledge the outcome of the tribunal. We are committed to maintaining and continually improving a respectful and inclusive workplace for all colleagues," an NHS spokesperson said.
Extra.ie
09-05-2025
- Health
- Extra.ie
Woman awarded €34,000 after being compared to Star Wars character
A woman has received almost €35,000 after she was compared to a Star Wars character during a team-building exercise. NHS blood donation worker Lorna Rooke resigned from her job just one month later, with one of the reasons cited due to the upset caused following the exercise. Ms Rooke had not even been present when a colleague took a Star Wars-themed Myers-Brigg psychology quiz on her behalf. A woman has received almost €35,000 after she was compared to a Star Wars character during a team-building exercise. Pic: Getty Images Quizzers were sorted into 16 different categories based on several factors including decision-making, perception, intuition and more. Rooke had been taking a call in another room when her colleague Amanda Harber filled out the answers on her behalf, proceeding to tell all their colleagues that the answer for Rooke was Darth Vader. While half-human, half-machine was branded a 'very focused individual,' Ms Rooke disliked the answer which she said made her feel unpopular. An employment tribunal in Croydon found the incident had been 'detrimental' to Ms Rooke, who said she had suffered from anxiety following the experience. Pic: Getty Images An employment tribunal in Croydon found the incident had been 'detrimental' to Ms Rooke, who said she had suffered from anxiety following the experience. Employment judge Kathryn Ramsden was in agreement with the complainant that the comparison was in fact upsetting. 'Darth Vader is a legendary villain of the Star Wars series, and being aligned with his personality is insulting,' the judge explained. The tribunal heard how Rooke began working for the NHS Blood and Transplant service in 2003, starting out as a training and practice supervisor. She resigned from her post in 2021, citing the incident as a contributing factor. Ms Rooke was awarded £28,989.61 (€34,225.13) in compensation after it was ruled that the incident was detrimental to her. Ms Rooke won her claim for detriment after a protected disclosure, but lost claims for unfair dismissal, disability discriminations and failure to make reasonable adjustments, the BBC report.
Spectator
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
Comparing a colleague to Darth Vader isn't offensive
Calling someone Darth Vader. If that's as bad as your workplace banter gets, I'd suggest you find a more entertaining place to work. Yet, incredibly, an NHS worker not only took enormous offence to being compared to the bucketheaded villain of the Star Wars franchise, she also took her employers to a tribunal. She's just won £30,000 in compensation for her trouble. Lorna Rooke claims she was prompted to leave the NHS Blood and Transplant service after an incident in 2021, when a team-building exercise turned to the dark side. In Rooke's absence, her workmates filled out a Star Wars-themed personality quiz, supposedly determining which type of person they each are, with characters from the movies clumsily grafted on to each archetype. The personality test didn't declare Rooke to be an evil, planet-destroying psychopath. Apparently, she resembles Darth Vader because she, too, is a 'very focused individual'.
Business Mayor
07-05-2025
- Health
- Business Mayor
Woman wins £30,000 compensation for being compared to Darth Vader
Comparing someone at work to the Star Wars villain Darth Vader is 'insulting' and 'upsetting', an employment tribunal has ruled. A judge concluded that being told you have the same personality type as the infamous sci-fi baddie is a workplace 'detriment' – a legal term meaning harm or negative impact experienced by a person. 'Darth Vader is a legendary villain of the Star Wars series, and being aligned with his personality is insulting,' the employment judge Kathryn Ramsden said. The tribunal's ruling came in the case of an NHS blood donation worker Lorna Rooke, who has won almost £30,000 after her co-worker took a Star Wars-themed psychological test on her behalf and told colleagues Rooke fell into the Sith Lord's category. The tribunal found that the outcome of the online quiz reflected the colleague's perception of Rooke and it was 'little wonder' the NHS employee was upset by the result. The tribunal, held in Croydon, south London, heard that in 2003 Rooke began working for the NHS Blood and Transplant service as a training and practice supervisor. In August 2021, members of Rooke's team took a Star Wars themed Myers-Briggs questionnaire as a team-building exercise. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator sorts people into 16 categories based on how introverted they are, level of intuition, if they are led by thoughts or feelings and how they judge or perceive the world around them. In the movie franchise, Vader is half human, half machine, and uses the 'dark side of the force' in his pursuit of his son Luke Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance – also featuring Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and the droids C-3P0 and R2-D2. Read More Listed financial adviser in £6.1m law firm deal But in the personality test, the Darth Vader category was described as a 'very focused individual' who could bring teams together. Rooke did not participate as she had to take a personal phone call but when she returned a colleague, Amanda Harber, had filled it out on her behalf and announced that she had the same personality type as Vader – real name Anakin Skywalker. The supervisor told the tribunal this outcome made her feel unpopular and was one of the reasons for her resignation the following month. Although the tribunal rejected her claim that the 'Darth Vader incident' had prompted her to leave it did find it counted as a 'detriment'. Rooke won her case for detriment after a protected disclosure but lost claims for unfair dismissal, disability discrimination, and failure to make reasonable adjustments. She was awarded £28,989.61 in compensation.
