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

3.0

Mar 11, 2015

You can get addicted to the work life here.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good work life balance,

Cons

Increments are same for an entire country irrespective of individual performances

1.0

Feb 1, 2015

Extremely dissatisfied by managment. Joined the organization. Left its managers.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

1. I loved working for The British Council. As an organization it has a true social/cultural dimension that I value. 2. Made great friends in different areas.

Cons

1. Was heavily bullied by 3 managers who felt intimidated by my knowledge and leadership. 2. Very unfortunate resistance to change by many staff members. Some colleagues were fierce and pathological liars. 3. Witnessed massive waste by expat managers (and their lavish lifestyles).

4.0

Dec 18, 2014

Excellent Colleagues

Account manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Opportunities for career progression and professional development, travel (for some), you can have a good work-life balance (but you have to make it happen yourself), modern IT, good pension, interesting work in a not for profit organisation, good equal opps.

Cons

The BC has offices in over 100 countries and like any big organisation it struggles with bureaucracy. Cuts to budgets and pressure of work leads some people to work much longer hours than they are paid for. Change is constant. It used to be the case that the organisation was more prepared to listen to expensive external consultants rather than its own staff (with often more experience.)

Viewing 124 - 126 of 2,308 Reviews

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