Fired After Endometriosis Surgery, Indian-Origin Woman Fights For Disability Rights

For years, Sanju Pal was the definition of a high achiever. She had built a fast-rising career as a management consultant at Accenture. She had won the Asian Woman of Achievement Award. She had met Queen Elizabeth II. She had even been invited to 10 Downing Street for her charity work. Then, in 2019, everything unravelled.

All it took was surgery. After taking time off to remove two painful ovarian cysts caused by endometriosis, she returned to work, only to be told months later that she had failed her performance targets. Soon after, she was dismissed. “Suddenly it was taken away from me,” she told the BBC. “I became nothing.”

What endometriosis took from her

Endometriosis affects around one in ten women in the UK. It occurs when tissue similar to the womb lining grows elsewhere in the body, often causing chronic pain, inflammation and scarring. There is no cure. Treatment usually means pain management or surgery.

Sanju’s case was severe. Diagnosed in 2018, she had Stage 3 endometriosis. A 7.5cm cyst had formed on one ovary, with another on the other side. Doctors recommended immediate surgery and a recovery period.

She took a month off work. But when she returned, it was clear she had come back too soon. She was still bleeding and exhausted, sometimes barely able to walk. The pain hadn’t left, but she had simply learned to work through it. 

Yet she kept showing up and updating HR, determined not to let her illness stall the promotion she had worked years for.

Then, at her six-month review, the blow landed. She was told she would not make her targets. Soon after, she was terminated, asked to leave the building immediately, and told not to contact colleagues. 

In a matter of minutes, nearly a decade of work disappeared. Along with her job went her private medical insurance, just when she needed treatment the most.

The shock quickly turned into shame. “I felt like I couldn’t tell anyone,” she said. “I became a shell of myself.”

Taking the fight to court

Sanju challenged the decision through an internal appeal. It failed.

So she went to an employment tribunal. In 2022, the tribunal ruled that her dismissal had been unfair. But she was not awarded compensation.

She appealed again.

Then came the turning point. In January 2026, the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that the original tribunal had failed to recognise her condition as a disability and had not properly considered disability discrimination.

The judgment could have wide implications for how employers treat workers with endometriosis. Accenture said it could not comment because the matter remains ongoing.

More than just a personal victory

Seven years and two legal battles later, Sanju says the experience has changed her.

Her corporate career has slowed, but her advocacy has grown stronger. She continues to run her charity, RISE, which connects young people in rural India with students in London.

She plays the violin with the West London Sinfonia. She hosts a podcast. And she now speaks openly about endometriosis and workplace discrimination.

Her case may help set a precedent for recognising endometriosis as a disability under the Equality Act 2010. If that happens, employers could be legally required to make adjustments for workers suffering from the condition.

For her, the fight was never just about getting her job back. It was about visibility. “The number of messages I receive from women saying they were afraid to talk about this,” she said. “And now they feel they can.”

For the first time, the silence around the condition feels like it’s breaking. And that, she says, makes the fight worth it.