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British Council

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British Council reviews

3.7

65% would recommend to a friend

(2,307 total reviews)
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Ciarán Devane

63% approve of CEO

46% positive business outlook

British Council has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 2,307 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
2.0
Aug 5, 2025

Inadequate

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some great people - mostly held back to prop up inadequate managers. Flexible working patterns. Leave entitlement

Cons

Nepotism/favouritism is rife. Questionable leadership on a global scale. Pay is ridiculously low. Very little promotion & encouragement to progress-unless you’re a favourite. Very bureaucratic. Wrong people in the wrong roles - nothing gets done & there are frequent meetings, about meetings about meetings without getting anything done. People in senior positions cannot lead; bullying is common especially from leaders who are unable to appreciate & bolster team members who haven’t lost their morale yet due to incompetence, arrogance & ego. Money is mismanaged to a horrendous degree-overspending on vanity projects with no real results is common. HR is virtually non-existent-everything is being contracted overseas. Bonus system is antiquated & reflective on how much sucking up is done over your actual performance & ability in a role. Leadership takes no accountability or provides support for staff other than “speak to EAP” Colleagues taking Voluntary Exit have had very little communication, no support & many won’t be paid their severance package for another 3 mths after leaving - which is a disgrace

5.0
Aug 2, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The ELA scheme is well managed by the British Council: they took into account my preferences when deciding on the location for my placement, and provided training and resources ahead of time

Cons

The programme was only viable for me because I was offered cheap accommodation onsite at the school. Otherwise, the monthly stipend would not be enough to live on.

4.0
Jul 31, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

very organised, cool, new opportunities

Cons

a lot of admin beforehand ie visas etc, but they help you along the way

Viewing 100 - 102 of 2,307 Reviews

Glassdoor has 3,221 British Council reviews submitted anonymously by British Council employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if British Council is right for you.