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 2% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at British Council?

61% 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, 3.7 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 (45) , 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 170 reviews)); "Good work life balance and focus on employee well being" ((in 122 reviews)); "Great people to work with and for." ((in 108 reviews)); "Great working environment and friendly" ((in 73 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 198 reviews)); "Low pay and insanely bureaucratic" ((in 121 reviews)); "But yes Management is Poor and Biased !" ((in 98 reviews)); "Those in senior leadership positions tend to serve themselves and their careers ahead of the corporate mission." ((in 33 reviews)); "This permeates across different offices and countries too as the managers have very often mixed a lot in past roles." ((in 30 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.

British Council reviews

3.6

61% would recommend to a friend

(2,315 total reviews)

Ciarán Devane

56% approve of CEO

43% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (2,315 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

British Council has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 2,315 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

3.0

Nov 4, 2017

Good for learning and development and standards, bad for everything else.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The funding available for learning and development is second to none in the ELT sector. Working there was a real education and I've grown considerably from the experience. I wouldn't be where I am now if it hadn't been for the experience at BC.

Cons

Everything seems to be a really long process. Finance teams in most countries are completely incompetent and frequently mess up your pay and leave you hanging for money for expenses claims which they process in their own sweet time. Improving work life balance is always talked about as a priority but never acted upon- in fact new contracts in a lot of countries mean that this is getting worse rather than better. Managers frequently work 12 hour days and that is seen as normal.

5.0

Oct 30, 2017

Great Working experience

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Teamwork, Opportunities to grow within the organization

Cons

A great organisation to be associated with.

4.0

Oct 29, 2017

Finance

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

maintaining work life balance but not for all dep

Cons

lack of stability and high turn over

Viewing 2080 - 2082 of 2,315 Reviews

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Jobs at British Council

People Project Manager

Customer Experience Manager

Proposition Development Coordinator

Vereinigtes Königreich

Edinburgh, Schottland

Erasmus + Single Point of Contact(Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland)

British Council

British Council reviews

Company ratings over time

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Good for learning and development and standards, bad for everything else.

Great Working experience

Finance

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Jobs at British Council