NHS worker gets £30,000 payout after being called Darth Vader

Lorna Rooke was told she had the personality of a Sith Lord (Picture: Lucasfilm/Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

A woman has won almost £30,000 in compensation after one of her colleagues compared her to Star Wars villain Darth Vader during an ‘insulting’ personality quiz.

Lorna Rooke, an NHS blood donation worker, was at a team building exercise in 2021 when her colleague Amanda Harber told her she had the personality of a Sith Lord.

Her colleague had taken a Star Wars-themed psychology quiz on behalf of Lorna, and told everyone about the result.

Lorna claimed this made her leave the company, as in the movies, Darth Vader is half human, half machine, and uses the ‘dark side of the force’ in pursuit of building his galaxy empire.

The quiz sorted 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.

Within it, Darth Vader was described as a ‘very focused individual’ who brought people together.

Despite the flattering description, Lorna told the tribunal in Croydon the result made her feel unpopular and was one of the reasons for her resignations the following month.

Employment judge Kathryn Ramsden agreed and said the comparison was ‘upsetting’, adding it was ‘little wonder’ Lorna was upset by the result.

She said: ‘Darth Vader is a legendary villain of the Star Wars series, and being aligned with his personality is insulting.’

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.

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