The NHS employee left the job after the incident with comparison to Darth Vader, the court awarded her compensation.
The British National Medical Service (NHS) worker received compensation for more than € 34,000 for comparing her to the villain Darth Vader from the Star Wars film saga. TASR informs BBC and The Guardian TV reports.
The British Court ruled that if colleagues report to someone that he has the same personality type as a known negative character, this can be considered in the workplace as “damage” – this is the case in the right to bear the injury caused by a criminal offense and does not matter whether it is concerned about things or rights.
The cause is personality tests
In August 2021, the staff reportedly did a personality test on Star Wars as part of Teambuilding. When Rooke left the room to recall a personal phone call, one of her colleagues completed the test for her. Reportedly, this was an indicator of personality type according to Myers and Briggs (MBTI), which divides people into 16 different personality types based on various criteria, such as their introvertedness/extrovertedness. The Guardian states that The Myers-Briggs Company has denied the use of the MBTI test.
Lorna Rooke has been working for the NHS since 2003, and at the transfusion and transplant department she supervised training and workflows. She stated that after this incident she felt unpopular and the working environment caused a bad mood and anxiety. She described the incident as one of the causes of her departure from the NHS in 2021.
The comparison is offensive
The description of Darth Vader stated that the persons who came out of this result are “very concentrated and can cement the team”. However, the judge did not agree with the claim that the inclusion in this category brings positive features.
“Darth Vader is the legendary Star Wars world and the comparison to his nature is offensive,” said Judge Kathryn Ramsden, according to BBC.
The court of Rooke assessed the compensation of EUR 34 198, but its entitlement to further funds for unfair release and ableism was dismissed.
