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?

62% 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 172 reviews)); "Good work life balance and focus on employee well being" ((in 121 reviews)); "Great people to work with and for." ((in 112 reviews)); "Great working environment and friendly" ((in 70 reviews)); "It's just a shame that the good culture was destroyed by bad organisational management." ((in 62 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 200 reviews)); "Low pay and insanely bureaucratic" ((in 119 reviews)); "But yes Management is Poor and Biased !" ((in 100 reviews)); "there was poor organisation and leadership" ((in 34 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.

British Council reviews

3.7

62% would recommend to a friend

(2,312 total reviews)

Ciarán Devane

57% approve of CEO

43% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (2,312 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

British Council has an employee rating of 3.7 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).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

3.0

Dec 21, 2017

Review

Officer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Work life balance and great people to work with

Cons

You can be stuck at one level all your life!

2.0

Nov 27, 2017

Be careful what you wish for

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Exposure to numerous programmes on international level

Cons

- The exposure is merely administrative. - Poor HR practices - Everyone who succeeded in the 3 year graduate programme left after the very first year - Awful management in general - No career progression - Bonus pay system is a complete scham - High employee turnover - Misrepresentation of advertised roles (the work has nothing in common with the job profile or job title). A project coordinator is there to send out emails only to customers. - Lack of decision-making procedures / managers avoid taking resposibility for anything

5.0

Aug 17, 2017

British Council is a business company

Teaching center assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

well organized, good envirnoment, good coworkers

Cons

you never know when they will resign the contract with you, asking too much and very insecure about their stuff

Viewing 262 - 264 of 2,312 Reviews

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

International Committee of the Red Cross

3.6★Compensation & Benefits

UNICEF

3.9★Compensation & Benefits

World Food Programme

4.1★Compensation & Benefits

FINCA International

3.7★Compensation & Benefits

Jobs at British Council

Language Learning Project Officer

Service Enablement Co-ordinator - HE

London, England

View job

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

Consultant, UK-German Connection (Comms & M&E)

British Council

British Council reviews

Company ratings over time

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Review

Be careful what you wish for

British Council is a business company

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Jobs at British Council