A former finance employee, who was fired despite having a cyst ‘the size of a coke can’ on one of her ovaries, has taken her former employer to the Court of Appeal in a landmark trial.
Sanju Pal, 43, was a manager at the London office of global consulting giant Accenture when she started suffering from a severe case of endometriosis – a condition with chronic symptoms that affects 1 in 10 women in the UK.
Accenture terminated her contract in 2019, after Pal failed to make promotion to senior manager after being at the firm for over 10 years, part of their progression-based ‘up or out model’.
For Sanju, what matters is making a change for people with conditions like Endometriosis.
Pal said: “I turned down a settlement agreement.
“As hard as it’s been, and it’s a David and Goliath battle, at least I can use my voice, tell my story, and per these proceedings, make some difference for women with chronic conditions.”
After starting to feel abdominal pain in the summer of 2018, what Sanju initially thought was a bladder infection became excruciating pain that lasted for an entire month.
Pal said: “I went to get a scan done, and they revealed a 7.5-centimetre endometrioma, which was the size of a Coke can on my left ovary, and a smaller one on my right”.
Immediately sent to the operating room, Pal had to take time off work while on the road to becoming a senior manager, in what she described as ‘the beginning of the end’ of her time at Accenture.
Even after taking a month away from work, the court heard how her symptoms had become chronic, with Pal feeling serious lower abdominal pain and a lack of energy.
Pal said: “I was really unwell; I was bleeding every single day.
“I was in so much pain that I had to go off sick again, I think I went back to work too quickly, and then I was on, off sick.”
After coming back to take an internal role at Accenture, Pal often worked from home suffering from extreme fatigue, pain and irregular bleeding.
A few months later, she was terminated from her role at Accenture – claiming that she was given no notice.
Pal said: “After they terminated me, they said it was according to a ‘disciplinary process’. What did I do wrong? Nothing’.
The courts previously ruled in Accenture’s favour in 2022 – a ruling that Pal labelled ‘a character assassination’.
She said: “The judgment absolutely annihilated me. It maimed me, and judges need to remember there is a human being attached to that claimant.
“It’s hard to talk about because it took me to a very, very, dark place”.
Pal’s request for an appeal was accepted, and after her appeal hearing last week, the judge decided to defer his judgment for a couple of weeks.
Pal hopes this means the judge and the panel will take their time when considering the case.
Much of the appeal hearing discussed whether her termination violated the Employment Rights Act, as well as whether Pal should have been considered as having a disability due to her endometriosis diagnosis.
Although Pal is yet to find out the outcome of her appeal, she feels external factors suggest things are already moving in the right direction regarding the legal status of endometriosis.
Last month, the All-Party Parliamentary Committee announced that it would establish an inquiry into workplace discrimination related to endometriosis.
Pal hopes that this could lead to an amendment in the Employment Rights Act to protect individuals suffering from endometriosis.
Pal said: “I think it’s all very timely, and regardless of the outcome of my case, we’re seeing momentum.
“I’m really hopeful”.
Accenture did not respond to comment.
Readers can donate to Pal’s Crowd Justice fund if they want to donate to her fight against endometriosis discrimination.
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