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?

65% 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?

"Good work life balance and focus on employee well being" ((in 125 reviews)); "Great people to work with and for." ((in 118 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 67 reviews)); "Entry level internship position gave me something worthwhile to add to my cv and was a good opportunity for some networking." ((in 58 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 203 reviews)); "Low pay and insanely bureaucratic" ((in 119 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 36 reviews)); "This permeates across different offices and countries too as the managers have very often mixed a lot in past roles." ((in 32 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.

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British Council

British Council reviews

3.7

65% would recommend to a friend

(2,308 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 2,308 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

1.0

Nov 22, 2015

Stay away

Teacher

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Some interesting looking projects worldwide.

Cons

The bloated/pampered management structure which has lead to chronic cronyism, self-important/incompetent and bullying attitude.

3.0

Jul 27, 2015

Interesting projects, but a lack of direction.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

I think people genuinely believe in the mission of the Council. That is great if you are interested in working in public projects such as education or the arts. The brand recognition is quite strong, which can lead to some very interesting partnerships. My supervisor was also fantastic, very understanding and easy to talk to.

Cons

The Council lacked direction, which was incredibly frustrating. There seemed to be poor communication between London and the country offices, so I never felt that we had an international team that really knew how to work together and learn from each other. I found this to be the most challenging element of my job, as it sometimes felt we were going nowhere.

2.0

Jul 20, 2015

Great ambitions, bad culture

Project manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Aims, objectives and aspirations of the organisation are good. A lot of work on the ground is delivered by passionate, committed staff who improve the lives of millions around the world. E.g. teaching, education and society programmes.

Cons

Staff hindered by cumbersome internal processes, micro-management and dreadful IT. Difficult to get things done because of 'working from home' culture and staff sickness. Risk adverse organisation: backward thinking with an unwillingness to improve or change 100s of contractors on double what their colleagues are on. Despite rigorous (and time consuming) performance management, under/over performance never acted upon. Poor pay and limited training budgets.

Viewing 121 - 123 of 2,308 Reviews

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