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 (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 168 reviews)); "Work life Balance is good" ((in 119 reviews)); "Great people to work with and for." ((in 112 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 67 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 213 reviews)); "Low pay and insanely bureaucratic" ((in 115 reviews)); "But yes Management is Poor and Biased !" ((in 102 reviews)); "there was poor organisation and leadership" ((in 37 reviews)); "This permeates across different offices and countries too as the managers have very often mixed a lot in past roles." ((in 31 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

(2,312 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 2,312 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

May 21, 2021

Appalling level of discrimination and bullying among senior management

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good place if you are happy to put up a lot for not much reward

Cons

Bullying and discrimination by senior management has no or very little consequences. In spite all the policies and code of conduct. Staff are terrified to speak up because it has been historically shown that whoever speak up will be labelled a trouble maker and will be pushed to leave.es and fluffy words in the code of conduct, in practice often senior management don't follow what they preach. The organisation has colonial culture where the white British considered to be the smarter and more competent employees. Some departments are particularly worse. The organisation has serious issues with gender pay gap, endemic bullying and discrimination.

4.0

May 14, 2021

TSP at the BC

English teacher

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

*training *sense of community *experience in teaching all ages *insurances

Cons

*post COVID training has been a bit sluggish

4.0

May 2, 2021

Great, but poor

Project manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Extremely nice team and interesting work

Cons

Salary freeze (as of April 20-April 21) and unstructured bureaucratic procedures, which kill the joy of work

Viewing 220 - 222 of 2,312 Reviews

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Jobs at British Council

Language Learning Project Officer

Service Enablement Co-ordinator - HE

E+ Eurodesk Digital Engagement Manager