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British Council

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British Council reviews

3.7

64% would recommend to a friend

(2,305 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 2,305 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.

3.0
Sep 15, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Support - as a teacher you never have to deal with complaints or difficult customers beyond an certain point. Training - colleagues tell me it's not as good as other employers, such as IH - but it's paid. Atmosphere - depending on the centre (e.g. not Martinez Campos), colleagues are friendly and helpful. International opportunities - it's relatively easy to move around in the BC. Career development - I haven't ranked this very highly, as their insistence on the DELTA exam means that some incapable people are promoted, while other very capable people are stuck in monotonous positions. However, if you have this exam, there are decent prospects. Holidays - very long, about 6 - 9 weeks (although inflexible).

Cons

Rigid hierarchy - see above note on DELTA. There is little to no flexibility within jobs and promotions are very official while unfair. False transparency - managers usually employ who they want (and know), and make the incredibly lengthy applications fit their foregone choice. This means a lot of time wasted in hopeless applications. Antisocial timetables/bad contracts - the centres that offer decent timetables tend only to offer short contracts, and those that offer permanent contracts demand antisocial working hours (Friday, Saturday, or both, as well as evenings). Inequalities surrounding contracts are famous both within and outside the BC. Teachers are only registered as working part-time (with preparation time not included), which means they fall short of the threshold for a standard pension. Managerial attitudes - due to the rigid hierarchy, and since middle managers come exclusively from teaching backgrounds, their attitude towards teachers can be painfully patronising (eliciting the obvious etc.). Decreasing pay - pay rises always happen in retrospect, and don't meet the real rise in the cost of living, so teachers are proportionally poorer each year.

2.0
Sep 4, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Prestigious name that is recognised/appreciated throughout the world for its traditional "English" professionalism and stiff upper lip

Cons

packed with jobbers who have risen to the dizzy heights of middle-management through absing themselves in the remote hope of being selected for promotion

Viewing 2299 - 2301 of 2,305 Reviews

Glassdoor has 3,219 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.