Monique Bouffe

Monique practices in Employment & Discrimination, Education and Public Law and brings with years of advocacy experience both at the Bar and from years prior within the Charity Sector.

Before coming to the Bar, Monique worked at leading human rights organisations, including Liberty. She specialised in advocacy for those deprived of access to the law and finding ways to make the law more accessible to members of the public. She continues to volunteer for legal advice clinics in her spare time.

Monique completed her first degree in History and Law at the University of Aberdeen, where she graduated with a First and was awarded the Forbes Medal in History for receiving the highest First in the History department. She completed her LLM in Public International Law at Leiden University.

She is ranked in the Legal 500 who describe her as being ‘Helpful, thorough, [and] a pleasure to work with’.

Expertise

Monique has advised and represented claimants and respondents in a wide range of discrimination and whistleblowing claims throughout all stages of a case. In addition to the Employment Tribunals in England and Wales, she has acted in the Employment Appeal Tribunal, the Fair Employment Tribunal for Northern Ireland and the Employment Tribunals in Scotland. She volunteers for ELAAS, representing litigants in person in the EAT on a regular basis. 

Monique also advises in civil discrimination claims and in claims with a Personal Injury element. She has been praised for her attention to detail and client care skills. Monique is well placed to advise and assist education settings as a result of her Education practice.

Monique does a significant amount of trade union work, and acts for precarious workers in the sex and entertainment industries in a range of claims, including worker status, trade union detriment and disability discrimination.

Notable Employment & Discrimination cases


Pandeli Ltd & Gold Panda Ltd v Ms H O’Keefe [2025] EAT 47

Successfully resisted an Appeal in the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Case clarified the scope of “Conduct of Proceedings” under Rule 76(1)(a); led by Martina Murphy.

Ms Brockwell v Look Ahead Care and Support Limited 2216810/2023

Successfully represented the Respondent in a multi day hearing involving claims of whistleblowing detriment, direct disability discrimination, victimisation, failure to make reasonable adjustments and harassment.

Ms Bettles and Ms Rutter v Secretary of State for Justice 3309571/2022

Represented two female Prison Officers in a sex discrimination case regarding a wholesale change in shift patterns, the case involved legal significance as to “anticipatory” policies and indirect discrimination by association.

Mr Abidogun v ISS Facility Service Healthcare 2301582/2022

Successfully represented the Respondent in dismission claims of Race Discrimination, harassment and unfair dismissal.

Mr Johnson v Atheneum

High profile whistleblowing claim against owner of owner of high end restaurant chain ‘Ivy’. News story here.

Ms Creaney v Sheldon Bosley Knight Limited 1300932/2021

Successfully represented a COVID-19 whistleblower.

Mr Smyth v Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club 1402558/2021

Represented the Claimant in his claim for whistleblowing, constructive and automatic unfair dismissal against a professional Football Club.

Successfully defended a national corporation against claims of race discrimination and harassment.

Advised in a religious/political belief discrimination claim in the Fair Tribunal for Northern Ireland.

Through an overnight strike-out application halfway through trial, forcing settlement of a claim for a significant sum for a whistleblower in relation to payment of minimum wage.

Successfully defended a care charity in an unlawful deduction of wages claim.

Monique acts for Appellants and Respondents in the First-Tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs & Disability) and advises on appeals to the Upper Tribunal. She is currently junior counsel, led by Alexander Line, in a case in the Court of Appeal.

Prior to coming to the Bar, Monique worked closely with children, families, schools and Local Authorities in her work as a Young Woman’s Advocate at Safer London. As a result, she is very familiar with schools and Children’s Social Care.

Monique’s client care skills put both parents and young people at ease, and her professionalism and familiarity with this area serves her well in her Local Authority work.

 Monique’s recent work includes:

  • Successfully representing an excluded child with autism at an Independent Review Panel Hearing, quashing the exclusion decision;
  • Successfully representing parents in their appeal against Sections B, F and I of their son’s Education, Health and Care Plan;
  • Advising a Local Authority on the merits of a “part-time” EOTAS package requested by parents;
  • Representing a Local Authority in an appeal against Section I where there was a significant costs difference between the two placements;
  • Drafting Grounds of Appeal to the Upper Tribunal on behalf of a Local Authority in relation to the provision of therapies in holiday time;
  • Drafting Submissions to the Governing Body of a School related to their exclusion of a 16 year old boy, which lead to the school withdrawing the exclusion.

Monique has acted in a number of Judicial Reviews, including advising in Pre-Action Proceedings, drafting Statement of Facts and Grounds, and being instructed in Interim and Final Hearings.

Monique’s recent work in this area includes:

  • Drafting Statement of Facts and Grounds in a JR pursuant to s.188 Housing Act 1996 in relation to provision of interim accommodation, leading to the settlement of proceedings;
  • Advising on the merits of challenging a Local Authority’s failure to maintain an Education Health and Care Plan;
  • Drafting an appeal to the County Court on public law grounds pursuant to s.204 Housing Act 1996;
  • Advising a claimant on next steps in her threatened eviction by a care home and cease of funding by a Local Authority;
  • Drafting an urgent judicial review against a Local Authority for failing to discharge its duties under the Equality Act 2010 towards a transgender woman in its housing allocation.

Monique’s Employment and Discrimination practice neatly dovetails with her Public law practice as she works with the intricacies of the Equality Act 2010 daily.

Monique regularly acts for claimants and defendants, and accepts instructions in a broad range of instructions in personal injury and clinical negligence. She regularly appears at trial, CCMC’s, application hearings, and infant settlement approval hearings.

Monique is on the NHS’s junior panel for claims under the Human Rights Act.

 Monique’s recent work in this area include:

  • Representing a family in a medical negligence inquest where the coroner noted that the NHS Trust had fallen below the standard of care;
  • Successfully representing a child who had suffered personal injury in a package travel claim;
  • Advising an NHS Trust in advance of settlement mediation as to the merits of a novel head of loss claimed by the claimant;
  • Drafting a defence for an NHS Trust in an Article 2 claim;
  • Representing a claimant in the Infant Approval Hearing of an Article 3 claim related to negligence in care proceedings.

Monique’s work in PI/Clinical Negligence often overlaps with her Mental Capacity/Court of Protection practice, where her knowledge and understanding of the Human Rights Act is of particular use.

Related updates

'Helpful, thorough, a pleasure to work with.'

Education, Legal 500 2025

To find out more, contact Nick Levett on +44 (0)20 7427 4908 or Sura Mustafa on +44 (0)20 7427 4883 for a confidential discussion.

  • BBP Pro Bono Scholarship for the BPTC
  • Forbes Medal in History

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