From Success to Struggle
Sanju Pal was a high-achieving professional, recognized with the Asian Woman of Achievement Award, having met the late Queen Elizabeth and been invited to 10 Downing Street. She held a management consultant position at Accenture, a prominent City firm.
However, in 2018, after missing her performance target due to time off for surgery to remove two large ovarian cysts, her career trajectory changed dramatically.
"Suddenly it was taken away from me, and I became nothing.
"I wasn't a high performer anymore because I had a disability.
Last month, Sanju, a Londoner, won a significant employment appeal tribunal that may influence how employers treat employees with endometriosis.
Understanding Endometriosis
Endometriosis affects one in ten women in the UK. It occurs when cells similar to those lining the womb grow outside the uterus, often on the pelvic lining, ovaries, bowel, bladder, or even beyond the pelvic area.
These cells respond to hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle, causing pain, inflammation, and scar tissue formation. Currently, there is no cure; treatments focus on pain relief and sometimes surgery.
In 2017, Sanju was diagnosed with severe, deep endometriosis at Stage 3 endometrioma, with a 7.5cm fluid-filled cyst on her left ovary and a smaller cyst on her right ovary, necessitating immediate surgery and recovery time.
Return to Work and Challenges
After a month off work for surgery, Sanju returned but had resumed too soon. She communicated with HR about her pain and difficulties.
"I was in touch with HR, I was telling them how I was in pain, how I was struggling,"
"I was bleeding, I could barely walk, because I'd been pushing myself too much, pushing myself through the fatigue wanting to make senior manager."
At her six-month review, after nearly a decade as a high performer, she was informed she had not met her performance target.
"I was then terminated and told to leave the building. I wasn't allowed to contact anyone,"
"I wasn't a high performer anymore, according to them, because I had a disability, because I was unwell and wasn't going to be contributing to the business in the way that I had been before."
Sanju experienced deep shame and anxiety over the dismissal.
"I was so sad and shocked and anxious. I didn't feel like I could tell anyone. I literally became a shell of myself."
She lost an internal appeal, during which she disclosed further details about her condition, but Accenture upheld its decision not to reinstate her.
Additionally, she lost her private medical insurance at a critical point in her illness.
Legal Battle and Victory
Feeling she had no alternative, Sanju pursued an employment tribunal. In 2022, the tribunal ruled in her favor but did not award compensation.
Sanju appealed, and in January 2026, the Employment Appeal Tribunal found that the original tribunal failed to recognize her as disabled due to endometriosis and that she had been discriminated against because of her disability.
Accenture stated to the BBC:
"As this is an ongoing legal matter we cannot comment further at this time."
Life After the Tribunal
Seven years and two tribunals later, Sanju describes herself as changed. She continues to volunteer with RISE, the charity she founded after school, which connects young people in rural India with those in London.
She also plays violin with the West London Sinfonia and hosts a podcast. However, her business career has been sidelined while she fought for recognition of her condition as a disability.
"My heart goes out to anyone going through the employment tribunal system because it's not easy,"
Sharing her journey has brought her comfort and strengthened her commitment to advocacy.
She hopes her case sets a precedent for endometriosis to be recognized as a disability under the Equality Act 2010 and plans to continue campaigning for legal change and support for women with the condition.
"The number of messages I receive from women saying 'I couldn't talk about this, I felt afraid to, but you're doing it'," she reflects.
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