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?

64% 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 3.3 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?

"Meaningful and some great colleagues" ((in 175 reviews)); "Good work life balance and exposure to the market." ((in 122 reviews)); "Great people to work with and for." ((in 108 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 68 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 201 reviews)); "Low pay and insanely bureaucratic" ((in 120 reviews)); "But yes Management is Poor and Biased !" ((in 105 reviews)); "Those in senior leadership positions tend to serve themselves and their careers ahead of the corporate mission." ((in 35 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

64% would recommend to a friend

(2,311 total reviews)

Ciarán Devane

61% approve of CEO

45% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.0

Diversity & inclusion

3.8

Culture & values

3.7

Work/Life balance

3.3

Career opportunities

3.2

Senior management

3.1

Compensation and benefits

British Council has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 2,311 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

Apr 28, 2022

Nice people and company, but really struggling because of government cuts

Project director

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Lots of international travel, positive impacts and driven people

Cons

stuck 20 years in the past in digital ways of working

4.0

Apr 27, 2022

Good but sometimes boring

Language assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

This is a very relaxed job and generally very rewarding

Cons

Can be repetitive, i.e. doing speaking practice, reading things out loud. There are no opportunities for career development either

3.0

Apr 24, 2022

Their policy does NOT let managers give Reference letter that mentions your job title or anything about British Council.

Business development manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

- Professional corporate culture - Good insurance: medical insurance, health benefit and covid-19 vaccination - Good reputation: an organisation receiving funds from the UK government to promote the relationship between the British and the rest of the world. - Most colleagues are nice - Quite good office - Seems to make an effort on EDI.

Cons

- Cannot use my name of choice for my email and company account. - MacBook users are not welcomed. Various systems only require access from their own devices, which are Windows laptops. Their excuses are cybersecurity. - It's a British public body so it's highly bureaucratic. - Main reason I left: overworked staff are unhappy staff. Even when we work extra hours (at night and on our holidays), there is still more work to be done, we constantly feel behind the job. The salary is no longer fair if counting the extra hours of work. My colleagues are dangerously exhausted for too long. Yet they have talks about mental health and meditation in the internal newsletter. - Even when you have excellent (internal) reviews and leave on good terms, managers here won't give you a reference letter that mentions their job title or anything to do with British Council. It's quite ridiculous. - Most people seem to stay at their positions for a long time, it makes opportunities of career development not very wide and even rare for young talents.

Viewing 196 - 198 of 2,311 Reviews

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Jobs at British Council

Delivery Manager Operations - English & Exams

Talent Acquisition Manager

Exams IT Services Manager

Executive - Operations