Team-building activities rarely end in legal settlements. Unless, of course, someone gets called Darth Vader in front of their coworkers.
Lorna Rooke, a former training supervisor with NHS Blood and Transplant, has been awarded £28,989.61 (about $36,500 USD) after an employment tribunal found that a colleague publicly comparing her to the Star Wars villain was, legally speaking, a workplace “detriment.”
The tribunal, held in Croydon, south London, heard that in August 2021 Rooke’s team took part in a Star Wars-themed personality test. She missed the activity while taking a personal phone call, but when she returned, a coworker had filled it out for her—and told everyone she got Darth Vader. The character summary, meant to be playful, described Vader as “a very focused individual who brings the team together.” But as far as workplace labels go, “emotionless space fascist” was not well received.
Darth Vader in the Workplace? Not Ideal.
“Darth Vader is a legendary villain of the Star Wars series, and being aligned with his personality is insulting,” wrote employment judge Kathryn Ramsden in the ruling. She added that, given the result was announced in front of colleagues, it was “little wonder” Rooke was “upset by it.” According to reporting by The Guardian, the tribunal noted that the situation would understandably make someone feel singled out and uncomfortable.
Rooke testified that the incident made her feel “unpopular” and added to ongoing stress and anxiety at work. She resigned the next month. While the tribunal rejected her claim that the Darth Vader moment directly triggered her departure, it did agree that it counted as a form of harm under UK employment law.
The judge noted that the quiz—referred to as “a Myers-Briggs questionnaire with a Star Wars theme”—wasn’t just silly HR fluff. It reflected the coworker’s perception of Rooke’s actual personality, whether she agreed with it or not. “The outcome of the quiz was likely to reflect Ms. Harber’s perception of Ms. Rooke and her character,” the judgment read. The Myers-Briggs Company later clarified that this wasn’t an official assessment.
Rooke also brought claims of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination, but those were dismissed.
As it was pointed out, what started as a lighthearted team-building exercise quickly turned into a cautionary tale. Even the most harmless-seeming icebreakers can backfire—especially when they involve unsolicited personality assessments and comparisons to a fictional war criminal who force-chokes his coworkers.
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