An NHS worker has been awarded nearly £29,000 in compensation after a colleague compared her to Darth Vader, the villain from Star Wars, during a personality test exercise in the workplace.
Lorna Rooke, who worked as a training and practice supervisor at NHS Blood and Transplant, was the subject of a Star Wars-themed Myers-Briggs personality assessment in which she was assigned the character of Darth Vader. The test was completed on her behalf by another colleague while she was out of the room.
An employment tribunal held in Croydon, south London, found that the incident constituted a "detriment" and contributed to Ms Rooke's low mood and anxiety at work. The tribunal heard that the personality label made her feel "unpopular" and negatively impacted her work environment.
Although the Darth Vader category was described in the assessment as a "very focused individual who brings the team together", Employment Judge Kathryn Ramsden ruled that the association was ultimately damaging. “Darth Vader is a legendary villain of the Star Wars series, and being aligned with his personality is insulting,” she said. The judge also noted that since the test was taken based on another colleague’s perception and shared with the wider group, it was understandable that Ms Rooke felt upset.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, commonly used in professional development, classifies individuals into one of 16 personality types based on traits such as introversion, intuition, thinking versus feeling, and judging versus perceiving. In this instance, the team used a themed version linking the results to Star Wars characters.
Ms Rooke began her role with the NHS in 2003 and resigned in 2021. The tribunal acknowledged that the Darth Vader incident was one of several reasons behind her departure. While she was unsuccessful in claims of unfair dismissal, disability discrimination, and failure to make reasonable adjustments, the tribunal upheld her claim for detriment following a protected disclosure.
She was awarded £28,989.61 in compensation.
The case has drawn attention to workplace culture and the potential risks of using themed or informal assessment tools in professional settings, particularly without consent.
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A former Hertfordshire officer resigned before his misconduct ruling
‘Former Hertfordshire police officer made racist slurs against Asians'
A FORMER Hertfordshire police officer made racist comments to colleagues on multiple occasions, a misconduct panel has found.
PC Oliver Gobey, who resigned as an officer on the morning of the misconduct hearing, directed racist comments at people of Asian descent on two separate occasions.
In the first incident, he directed a “racially motivated” comment at a police sergeant to suggest they had been recruited after 9/11 because they were Asian.
Gobey was immediately challenged by PC Wallace, an “experienced officer” who had been a tutor constable for twenty years.
In a second incident, Gobey was in a police vehicle in Hitchin town centre with three colleagues. A man of Asian descent and his friends approached the officers and spoke to Wallace. The man said he was from Birmingham and asked for recommendations on places to visit.
After the man had walked away, Gobey said: “Or you have come down here to escape the honour-based violence you have caused.”Gobey was again challenged by Wallace. Gobey denied making the racist comments, but the panel concluded on the balance of probabilities that both incidents had taken place.
The panel’s report said: “They were discriminatory comments and they were his own. They were unprovoked. No one encouraged him.”
The panel also concluded that Gobey “chose to lie” about a business interest. He repeatedly failed to submit a proper application to continue part-time work for a private ambulance service and voluntary work for St John Ambulance, but continued with the latter regardless.
He also told a supervisor his business interest application had been successful, when it had not been.
In a fourth incident, Gobey “deliberately typed in random numbers” when assigned to work in the Resource Management Unit (RMU).
His figures, which were found to be wrong, came after Gobey “gave the impression to his colleagues that the work in RMY was ‘beneath’ him”.
While working there, he was heard “swearing about the work”. He was “short-tempered and ‘snappy’.” The panel’s report said: “The compilation of the figures … were far from being a simple administrative matter.
“It was essential operational information required by senior officers to decide how scarce resources would be deployed in the coming days.”
The panel found all the allegations against Gobey to be proven on the balance of probabilities, and concluded that they amounted to “serious gross misconduct” that would have led to him being sacked without notice if he had not resigned. He has also been added to the College of Policing barred list.
(Local Democracy Reporting Service)