A UK woman whose co-workers compared her to Darth Vader after taking an online personality test on her behalf has been awarded £30,000 in damages.

Darth Vader is an iconic villain, and being compared to him by workmates is apparently insulting and traumatic enough to warrant compensation. At least that was the decision of a UK court in the case of an NHS blood donation worker who claimed that the association with the Star Wars character caused her to feel unpopular at work and ultimately quit her job. The judge concluded that being told she has the same personality type as the infamous sci-fi villain was a workplace “detriment”,(a negative experience) that required compensation.

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The incident that sparked this unusual legal battle took place in August 2021, when Lorna Rooke and her colleagues at a blood donation center took a Star Wars-themed Myers-Briggs personality questionnaire as part of a team-building exercise. Lorna herself did not take the test because she had to step out to take a personal phone call, but when she returned, another colleague had filled out the questionnaire on her behalf and informed her that her personality was associated with Darth Vader.

The experience allegedly had such a big impact on the woman that she started feeling unpopular at work and ended up quitting the very next month. In her lawsuit, Rooke claimed that being compared to Darth Vader was one of the main reasons for her resignation and demanded compensation for unfair dismissal, disability discrimination, and failure to make reasonable adjustments.

Darth Vader may be a ruthless villain in the Star Wars universe, but in the Myers-Briggs questionnaire, his category was described as a “very focused individual” who could bring teams together. Still, the judge ruled that being associated with him was insulting.

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“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.

Lorna Rooke was awarded £28,989.61 in compensation for detriment, but her claims for unfair dismissal, disability discrimination, and failure to make reasonable adjustments were rejected.