Accenture is now awaiting a decision from the Court of Appeal regarding the dismissal of its former employee, Sanju Pal, who was let go in 2019. The legal dispute revolves around a January 2026 ruling by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) concerning the 2022 tribunal ruling.

Pal’s dismissal followed allegations of underperformance tied to missed promotion deadlines, despite her struggles with endometriosis. In her initial 2022 tribunal hearing, she lost claims of unfair dismissal, race discrimination, disability discrimination, and a failure to provide reasonable adjustments. The tribunal also determined that her termination was unrelated to her medical condition or discriminatory factors.

The EAT partially reversed the original decision in January, arguing that the tribunal had failed to adequately evaluate whether Pal qualified as disabled at the time of her dismissal or if her disability contributed to discrimination. Judge James Tayler criticized the tribunal’s assumption that Accenture’s rigid “up or out” promotion structure inherently justified her removal, even though she remained capable of fulfilling her existing role.

Pal’s legal funding came through Crowdjustice, and she recalled pre-dismissal conversations: “No adjustment had been made to key metrics (TAL – Time At Level, and Chargeability), to take into account my sick leave, phased return and role restrictions after the operation I had due to endometriosis. I told them of the challenging time I was having with my health. They told me that I was terminated with immediate effect.”

The Court of Appeal heard Accenture’s case on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. It is not known when the judgment will be delivered but they are typically handed down in writing several weeks or months later. In a statement, Accenture maintained that the tribunal had already determined her dismissal was based on performance issues, not discrimination, and declined to provide further details while the case proceeds.