When Sanju Pal lost her job at Accenture in 2019, just months after surgery for endometriosis, it was more than a personal tragedy. She says it highlights how the workforce is quietly bleeding talent and high-fliers due to mismanagement of a condition afflicting 1.9 million UK women.
Now, as Endometriosis Awareness Month begins, Sanju’s recent employment tribunal appeal win has ignited a growing push to rethink how employers handle the disease. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Endometriosis is preparing to launch a dedicated enquiry into endometriosis in the workplace, and how employers can support, or fail, their employees.
Sanju’s story
“I care deeply about the treatment of women with endometriosis in the workplace,” says Sanju Pal, speaking from her childhood Camden council estate. She says it meant a lot to be able to say she worked as a management consultant at one of the world’s biggest firms, and that it was pivotal to her a sense of self-esteem and identity.
But in 2018, after months of excruciating pain, doctors discovered a 7.5cm “chocolate cyst” on her left ovary and 3cm on the right — blood-filled endometriomas so heavy they risked twisting her uterus. She was given urgent surgery, but the recovery was brutal. ‘I couldn’t even put clothes on. That’s how fragile and tender I was, I couldn’t walk.’ But, anxious to lead an inclusion project, she returned to work prematurely: ‘I was literally just hobbling around. I was so fatigued. I look back and think why did I do that to myself? Why did I put my body through that?’
But the aftermath of the surgery was too much, and she had to go off work again. Shortly after returning, Sanju received a letter on June 6, 2019, alleging poor performance and warning of possible dismissal within four days — with no prior warnings despite occupational health reports and positive feedback
Termination came immediately in a meeting she describes as dehumanising.
‘Overnight I became unemployed. Overnight, I felt like I became a nobody.’
She says this was a result of the “up or out” system that Accenture followed, and that is common practice across corporate firms. This system demands that employees be on track for promotion within a set timeframe. Sanju says her time off sick meant she hadn’t progressed in line with expectations for those months.
She appealed internally, but the process was gruelling. She started getting panic attacks, and her immune system collapsed — she ended up hospitalised for a week after an infection in her ear spread into her brain. ‘I’ve never really spoken about this, but that’s how serious it was. That’s how broken my body was from this’
2018 after surgery for endometriosis
The internal appeal was rejected, so in December 2019, she filed an employment tribunal claim. She won on unfair dismissal but received no compensation and her disability discrimination claim failed following what she calls a ‘horrific 54-page character assassination.’
Accenture did not respond to requests for comment.
Sanju decided to appeal the verdict, and on January 19, 2026, the original ruling that there was no disability discrimination was overturned in the Royal Courts of Justice as ‘wholly inadequate.’ This judgement sets the precedent that endometriosis can be a disability under the Equality Act 2010 and so can in certain circumstances require employers to make reasonable adjustments, and afford protection from disability discrimination. ‘That endometriosis has been considered as a disability in a High Court in a judgment that is legally binding, it’s a landslide victory.’
The London picture
The workplace consequences for endometriosis sufferers in London seem to be worse. The Office for National StatisticsOffice for National Statistics shows women in London lose up to £3,000 in annual earnings post-diagnosis — more than three times the national average, even after adjusting for higher wages and living costs. Over 7 per cent leave employment entirely within five years, double the UK rate.
‘Women in London corporate jobs are pushing themselves despite being disabled by conditions like endometriosis. And it’s not acceptable,’ Sanju warns. ‘We have a crisis on our hands.’
Women without formal diagnoses, facing years-long delays, remain especially vulnerable. ‘If a woman is in a workplace and saying that they are being crippled by something related to their menstrual health… Just because they don’t have a diagnosis does not mean that an employer doesn’t have a duty to support them,’ she emphasises.
Pressure for change
The national economic cost of endometriosis exceeds £8 billion annuallyThe national economic cost of endometriosis exceeds £8 billion annually through healthcare, absenteeism and unemployment. Endometriosis UK’s Friendly Employer SchemeFriendly Employer Scheme offers employers a clear path forward: manager training, flexible hours, remote working options and quiet spaces to dismantle stigma and retain talent.
And, Sanju warns, ‘it’s not just endometriosis. What about all the other conditions?… Millions of women, not basically entitled to have a successful career because they’re penalised for their condition. It’s not okay.’
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Standfirst
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HeadlineEndometriosis: The Hidden Workplace Crisis Costing London Women £3,000 a Year
Short HeadlineEndometriosis: The Hidden Workplace Crisis
StandfirstThis endometriosis awareness month, one woman’s landmark legal victory could redefine menstrual health rights in the workplace.
When Sanju Pal lost her job at Accenture in 2019, just months after surgery for endometriosis, it was more than a personal tragedy. She says it highlights how the workforce is quietly bleeding talent and high-fliers due to mismanagement of a condition afflicting 1.9 million UK women.
Now, as Endometriosis Awareness Month begins, Sanju’s recent employment tribunal appeal win has ignited a growing push to rethink how employers handle the disease. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Endometriosis is preparing to launch a dedicated enquiry into endometriosis in the workplace, and how employers can support, or fail, their employees.
Sanju’s story
“I care deeply about the treatment of women with endometriosis in the workplace,” says Sanju Pal, speaking from her childhood Camden council estate. She says it meant a lot to be able to say she worked as a management consultant at one of the world’s biggest firms, and that it was pivotal to her a sense of self-esteem and identity.
But in 2018, after months of excruciating pain, doctors discovered a 7.5cm “chocolate cyst” on her left ovary and 3cm on the right — blood-filled endometriomas so heavy they risked twisting her uterus. She was given urgent surgery, but the recovery was brutal. ‘I couldn’t even put clothes on. That’s how fragile and tender I was, I couldn’t walk.’ But, anxious to lead an inclusion project, she returned to work prematurely: ‘I was literally just hobbling around. I was so fatigued. I look back and think why did I do that to myself? Why did I put my body through that?’
But the aftermath of the surgery was too much, and she had to go off work again. Shortly after returning, Sanju received a letter on June 6, 2019, alleging poor performance and warning of possible dismissal within four days — with no prior warnings despite occupational health reports and positive feedback
Termination came immediately in a meeting she describes as dehumanising.
‘Overnight I became unemployed. Overnight, I felt like I became a nobody.’
She says this was a result of the “up or out” system that Accenture followed, and that is common practice across corporate firms. This system demands that employees be on track for promotion within a set timeframe. Sanju says her time off sick meant she hadn’t progressed in line with expectations for those months.
She appealed internally, but the process was gruelling. She started getting panic attacks, and her immune system collapsed — she ended up hospitalised for a week after an infection in her ear spread into her brain. ‘I’ve never really spoken about this, but that’s how serious it was. That’s how broken my body was from this’
2018 after surgery for endometriosis
The internal appeal was rejected, so in December 2019, she filed an employment tribunal claim. She won on unfair dismissal but received no compensation and her disability discrimination claim failed following what she calls a ‘horrific 54-page character assassination.’
Accenture did not respond to requests for comment.
Sanju decided to appeal the verdict, and on January 19, 2026, the original ruling that there was no disability discrimination was overturned in the Royal Courts of Justice as ‘wholly inadequate.’ This judgement sets the precedent that endometriosis can be a disability under the Equality Act 2010 and so can in certain circumstances require employers to make reasonable adjustments, and afford protection from disability discrimination. ‘That endometriosis has been considered as a disability in a High Court in a judgment that is legally binding, it’s a landslide victory.’
The London picture
The workplace consequences for endometriosis sufferers in London seem to be worse. The Office for National StatisticsOffice for National Statistics shows women in London lose up to £3,000 in annual earnings post-diagnosis — more than three times the national average, even after adjusting for higher wages and living costs. Over 7 per cent leave employment entirely within five years, double the UK rate.
‘Women in London corporate jobs are pushing themselves despite being disabled by conditions like endometriosis. And it’s not acceptable,’ Sanju warns. ‘We have a crisis on our hands.’
Women without formal diagnoses, facing years-long delays, remain especially vulnerable. ‘If a woman is in a workplace and saying that they are being crippled by something related to their menstrual health… Just because they don’t have a diagnosis does not mean that an employer doesn’t have a duty to support them,’ she emphasises.
Pressure for change
The national economic cost of endometriosis exceeds £8 billion annuallyThe national economic cost of endometriosis exceeds £8 billion annually through healthcare, absenteeism and unemployment. Endometriosis UK’s Friendly Employer SchemeFriendly Employer Scheme offers employers a clear path forward: manager training, flexible hours, remote working options and quiet spaces to dismantle stigma and retain talent.
And, Sanju warns, ‘it’s not just endometriosis. What about all the other conditions?… Millions of women, not basically entitled to have a successful career because they’re penalised for their condition. It’s not okay.’
