A senior Brighton University lecturer who claimed bosses treated her unfairly when she became ill has won her fight for compensation.

Thalia Tabary-Peterssen, a media studies lecturer, who suffers from anxiety, depression and chronic fatigue syndrome, became ill in 1999 and has not worked since.

She told a Brighton employment tribunal she was capable of working again but had failed to reach an agreement with her managers about a phased return and an adjustment to her duties.

After a four-day hearing earlier this year the tribunal has announced its decision.

It ruled she was discriminated against on the grounds of her disability because the university's failure to make reasonable adjustments to her duties made it impossible for her to return to work.

The amount of compensation Ms Tabary-Peterssen, of Sussex Square, Brighton, will be awarded will be decided at a later date.

The university denied treating her unfairly and during the hearing the tribunal heard evidence from senior managers about a series of meetings held to try to resolve her situation.

But the tribunal blamed Ms Tabary-Peterssen's difficulties on the failure of some managers to take responsibility for her position.

The written decision from the tribunal states: "The tribunal does not believe the university's failings were wilful but rather the failure of good management, the failure of managers to accept responsibility and a willingness to presume that somebody else was responsible without ever clarifying that was the case."

Her solicitor Richard Brearley, of ABA Law, an employment specialist legal firm in Hove, said Ms Tabary-Peterssen was delighted with the tribunal's decision.

He said: "The tribunal's decision is a warning to employers that they need to have people who are trained in dealing with disability discrimination issues."