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British Council

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British Council reviews

3.7

65% would recommend to a friend

(2,308 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 2,308 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).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
4.0
Sep 26, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

BC Seoul is VERY well paid in the industry. There is huge amounts of overtime going and the base salary is very nice: up to 750 pounds sterling per month, 2.3 million won local per month, 830,000 rent allowance per month, medical insurance, flights, bonus and tax-free for the first two years. If you're not saving a thousand pounds a month there is something wrong. When you work it out it is like earning 50k in the UK. Professionally, you will teach on a huge range of courses, thus giving you a beefy CV and coupled with the professional development (CELTYL / TYLEC, DELTA, PGCEi, MA) you'll come out on top. You'll also get very good support from your colleagues The centre has very good management these days who are responsive and understanding in most cases. As of now (September 2011) there is a positive atmosphere in all three centres in and around Seoul and people seem to work well together. Good holiday allowance and from 2012 these can be taken flexibly.

Cons

That said, management seem to promote those already in their 'circle', though this may be a perception amongst the bitter rather than the truth. Very, very long hours including early morning starts - 7am classes meaning you'll wake up at 5ish.

2.0
Jan 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The only notable advantage is the relatively generous leave allowance. However, accrued leave is not always easy to take, and converting unused leave into compensation requires multiple layers of approval. The process can be delayed for over six months, or even longer, under the justification that this is simply “standard procedure.” When concerns are raised, the response may be something along the lines of, “Then you shouldn’t work overtime.” This overlooks the reality that customer-related issues often cannot be completed within regular hours — otherwise, no one would choose to work overtime in the first place.

Cons

Employees are expected to strictly “stay in their own lane,” but when colleagues fail to complete their responsibilities, the workload is often pushed onto others instead. There are numerous structural and management issues. Leadership frequently shifts responsibility rather than addressing problems directly, and employees who genuinely want to do their jobs well are often penalized for it. Interdepartmental communication is poor, with teams regularly deflecting responsibility if an issue is deemed outside their scope. As a result, customers are left waiting, while frontline and responsible staff are placed in extremely difficult positions. The internal escalation and feedback channels are rigid, highly hierarchical, and inefficient. Career progression opportunities are limited and tend to favor those who are compliant rather than those who are capable.

2.0
Sep 18, 2025

Management and salary

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Just a known reputed name.

Cons

They don't pay you fairy and sometime skip annual appraisal. After that they force you to visit office without providing transport if you have dayshift. They will not provide you food or anything even if you are working at night or early morning, knowing that office is far away in remote area. It's a complete torture.

Viewing 133 - 135 of 2,308 Reviews

Glassdoor has 3,223 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.