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 3.2 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 (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?

"Good work life balance and focus on employee well being" ((in 125 reviews)); "Great people to work with and for." ((in 117 reviews)); "Great working environment and friendly" ((in 71 reviews)); "It's just a shame that the good culture was destroyed by bad organisational management." ((in 68 reviews)); "Entry level internship position gave me something worthwhile to add to my cv and was a good opportunity for some networking." ((in 59 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 210 reviews)); "Low pay and insanely bureaucratic" ((in 117 reviews)); "But yes Management is Poor and Biased !" ((in 99 reviews)); "Those in senior leadership positions tend to serve themselves and their careers ahead of the corporate mission." ((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.

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British Council

British Council reviews

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3.7

64% would recommend to a friend

(2,306 total reviews)

Ciarán Devane

63% approve of CEO

46% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.0

Diversity & inclusion

3.8

Culture & values

3.7

Work/Life balance

3.2

Senior management

3.2

Career opportunities

3.1

Compensation and benefits

British Council has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 2,306 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 ONG y Organizaciones sin fines de lucro 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

4.0

Jan 10, 2013

Good experience, but be careful not to get too comfortable and stay too long.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Culture is strongly in-favour of the employee, with fairly progressive HR practices. Good opportunity to work in different countries and on projects that bring you into contact with some senior policy-makers and interesting government and NGO organisations.

Cons

Salaries are being eroded over time, with pay-freezes across the board and no performance-related bonuses for academic and management level staff. The organisation is mis-understood in the outside world and experience has little currency outside of English language teaching.

4.0

Dec 16, 2012

They have been supportive

English language assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The teaching preparation is very helpful. You have multiple sources of support.

Cons

Not always the best organised.

4.0

Oct 12, 2012

They have got a system for everything

Registrar

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

I was a locally hired staff and without any discrimination I was getting good atmosphere in the office

Cons

They always wait for a commission to review the salary scale and not like the private firms

Viewing 2266 - 2268 of 2,306 Reviews

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Jobs at British Council

Executive - Operations

SH - Executive - Operations

SH- Associate Operations

SH- Executive - Business Process Services, English & Exams