Does British Council pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, British Council employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.1 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at British Council. This rating has improved by 3% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at British Council?

64% of British Council employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated British Council 3.7 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.8 for culture and values and 3.2 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at British Council?

English Teacher (162) , English Language Assistant (100) , Teacher (100) , Exam Invigilator (93) , Project Manager (67) , Invigilator (64) , Teaching Assistant (55) , Manager (44) , ESL Teacher (38) , Customer Service Representative (30) , Teacher of English (26) , Language Assistant (25) , IELTS Invigilator (24) , Administrative Assistant (23) , Consultant (23)

What are the pros of working at British Council according to real employee reviews?

"Meaningful and some great colleagues" ((in 172 reviews)); "Work life Balance is good" ((in 116 reviews)); "Great people to work with and for." ((in 109 reviews)); "Great working environment and friendly" ((in 72 reviews)); "It's just a shame that the good culture was destroyed by bad organisational management." ((in 69 reviews))

What are the cons of working at British Council according to real employee reviews?

"Salaries are low and you have to work from the office most of the time." ((in 206 reviews)); "Low pay and insanely bureaucratic" ((in 117 reviews)); "But yes Management is Poor and Biased !" ((in 102 reviews)); "Those in senior leadership positions tend to serve themselves and their careers ahead of the corporate mission." ((in 33 reviews)); "This permeates across different offices and countries too as the managers have very often mixed a lot in past roles." ((in 29 reviews))

What are employees saying about British Council layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about British Council layoffs and their outlook for job security at British Council in 2026.

Skip to content Skip to footer

Notifications

British Council

British Council reviews

3.7

64% would recommend to a friend

(2,306 total reviews)

Ciarán Devane

63% approve of CEO

46% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.0

Diversity & inclusion

3.8

Culture & values

3.7

Work/Life balance

3.2

Senior management

3.2

Career opportunities

3.1

Compensation and benefits

British Council has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 2,306 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The British Council employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Gemeinnützige Organisationen & NGOs industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

3.0

Jul 17, 2018

Team Leader - Finance

Team leader

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

1. Excellent working conditions 2. Best in the class compensation 3. Work-Life balance better than the industry

Cons

1. Pathetic Leadership (especially at Top) 2. Too much nepotism and favouritism 3. Very orthodox minded organization 4. Too much bureaucracy 5. Highly unstructured Performance Review 6. Management by thumb rule and pressure 7. Employees are largely frustrated 8. Corrupt senior management 9. Very few growth opportunities 10. Senior Leadership do not walk the talk regarding values

2.0

May 23, 2018

Teacher

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Not much pressure, easy, if you can ignore the hoops that you have to jump through once you get into the classroom the students are amazing. Also teachers have opportunities for professional development in terms of delta or trinity dip.

Cons

Work all day all weekend, tons of pointless corporate nonsense, split shifts has you work all morning then break in the afternoon to work until ten at night, teaching by numbers with uselessly bad materials, that sort of thing.

3.0

Sep 7, 2017

British Council undergoing massive transition

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great people on the team, opportunities to work with high level partners

Cons

Disorganized, too much process and bureaucracy, do not have a functioning business model or leadership who understands the challenges.

Viewing 28 - 30 of 2,306 Reviews

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

International Committee of the Red Cross

3.6★Compensation & Benefits

UNICEF

3.9★Compensation & Benefits

World Food Programme

4.0★Compensation & Benefits

FINCA International

3.7★Compensation & Benefits

Jobs at British Council

Executive - Operations

SH - Executive - Operations

SH- Associate Operations

SH- Executive - Business Process Services, English & Exams