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Sanju Pal wins U.K. endometriosis discrimination appeal
Pal launched an online campaign on CrowdJustice to fund the appeal, which was heard on Dec. 9, 2025.
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Rwittika Chakraborty
- Tue, 20, Jan 2026
- 02:02 EST
- 18
Sanju Pal, a non-resident Indian from West Bengal. / pointsoflight.gov.uk/rise/
Sanju Pal, a non-resident Indian from West Bengal, has secured a win in her High Court appeal in London on Jan. 19 after a six-year legal fight for workplace fairness for women suffering from a chronic illness.
Pal, who suffers from endometriosis, is expected to set an important precedent on disability discrimination in a work environment linked to the condition under the U.K.’s Equality Act 2010.
ALSO READ: New Jersey claims Amazon discriminated against pregnant, disabled warehouse workers
Endometriosis is a condition leading to pelvic pain that reportedly affects about 1.5 million females in the U.K.
The 41-year-old, represented by Kilgannon & Partners, also challenged the legality of the controversial “up or out” progression-based model, arguing that dismissing consultants deemed unready for promotion is unfair under the UK’s Employment Rights Act 1996.
Pal won her appeal against Accenture at the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT), which concluded that an Employment Tribunal's reasoning on disability discrimination because of endometriosis was completely inadequate, with her evidence of the condition backed by medical proof.
The EAT’s judgment further stated that the Employment Tribunal also failed to consider whether the condition would continue to have a substantial adverse effect on Pal’s normal day-to-day functioning in the absence of medical treatment and that the issue of disability would therefore need to be reconsidered entirely afresh.
The EAT concluded that the findings that Pal was not disabled, and that she had not been subjected to discrimination arising from a disability, could not be upheld.
With her victory, the matter will now be sent back to a newly constituted tribunal to ensure that the issue of disability will be considered anew.
Pal's case started in 2019, when she was dismissed as manager for reported underperformance after not getting a promotion to the senior manager level at management consulting firm Accenture (UK) Ltd.
She then challenged her dismissal at an Employment Tribunal, which upheld her unfair dismissal claim in May 2022 and awarded her £4,275 as a basic award.
The appeal concerning compensation will also be reconsidered to assess what might have occurred had Accenture followed its own policies by conducting an independent investigation and involving independent decision-makers before dismissing Pal.
Pal launched an online campaign on CrowdJustice to fund the appeal, which was heard on Dec. 9, 2025.
She has been recognised with the U.K. Prime Minister's Points of Light Award as the founder of Rural India Social Enterprise (RISE), an education charity that aims to improve education in the U.K. and rural India.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
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