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 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at British Council?

62% 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, 3.7 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 (45) , 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 178 reviews)); "Good work life balance and focus on employee well being" ((in 120 reviews)); "Great people to work with and for." ((in 115 reviews)); "Great working environment and friendly" ((in 69 reviews)); "It's just a shame that the good culture was destroyed by bad organisational management." ((in 66 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 212 reviews)); "Low pay and insanely bureaucratic" ((in 117 reviews)); "But yes Management is Poor and Biased !" ((in 103 reviews)); "Changing leadership and poor strategy" ((in 34 reviews)); "This permeates across different offices and countries too as the managers have very often mixed a lot in past roles." ((in 30 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.

British Council reviews

3.7

62% would recommend to a friend

(2,314 total reviews)

Ciarán Devane

57% approve of CEO

43% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (2,314 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

British Council has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 2,314 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).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

4.0

Apr 13, 2024

Teacher

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Salaried with good holidays throughout the year

Cons

Under funded, poor pay, poor working conditions, poor behaviour

4.0

Apr 13, 2024

a time of transition

Senior teacher

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

- Decent salary when near the top of scale. - Local staff were always friendly and helpful - Variety of tasks - Opportunities for project management development - Opportunities to development line management skills

Cons

- a time of transition so not always clear direction - too many HR tasks - especially when the HR Team was removed - Covid led to widespread upheaval - Occasional lack of professionalism from some individuals - too many people flouted sick leave allowance

4.0

Apr 10, 2024

The company was OK

Teaching operations administrator

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Benefits Lots of leave days as it's Education industry Friendly environment Inclusion

Cons

Old fashioned way of management Low opportunities to be promoted

Viewing 385 - 387 of 2,314 Reviews

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

UNICEF

3.9★Compensation & Benefits

Narcotics Anonymous World Services

4.0★Compensation & Benefits

Armenian General Benevolent Union

3.5★Compensation & Benefits

World Wide Web Foundation

4.0★Compensation & Benefits

Jobs at British Council

Customer Experience Manager

Language Learning Project Officer

Erasmus + Single Point of Contact(Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland)

Edinburgh, Schottland

British Council

British Council reviews

Company ratings over time

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

a time of transition

The company was OK

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Jobs at British Council