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?

65% 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?

"Great people to work with and for." ((in 118 reviews)); "Good work life balance and focus on employee well being" ((in 116 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 66 reviews)); "Entry level internship position gave me something worthwhile to add to my cv and was a good opportunity for some networking." ((in 61 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 201 reviews)); "Low pay and insanely bureaucratic" ((in 110 reviews)); "But yes Management is Poor and Biased !" ((in 105 reviews)); "Those in senior leadership positions tend to serve themselves and their careers ahead of the corporate mission." ((in 36 reviews)); "This permeates across different offices and countries too as the managers have very often mixed a lot in past roles." ((in 33 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

65% would recommend to a friend

(2,307 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 2,307 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

Nov 26, 2021

Nice people, inspiring work

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Opportunities to work with international colleagues and connections, inspiring projects around the world in arts and culture, and working with nice, smart people who are values-led. Overall a good work culture and positive ambitions for inclusion. Great pension and training opportunities.

Cons

Salary progression is difficult internally as they only ever start you at the bottom of the band. Finding new roles within the organisation to progress your career is not transparent. The senior leadership team doesn't seem to keep the values at the heart of their decision making - bullying and racist microaggressions are not sufficiently challenged.

2.0

Apr 13, 2017

Avoid unless your priority is work-life balance.

Business analyst

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Pleasant office environment in a central location. Subsided canteen. Opportunities to travel widely. Interesting organisation. Easy to get away with not coming into the office very much at all and not doing any work. Plenty of people in my team I didn't see week to week and appeared to do next to no work. I can not exaggerate enough the number of cushy jobs. Personally, I don't really see this as a pro.

Cons

Insecure FTC Poor management Poor leadership. Lots of people who have worked there for years and years who are under-qualified for technical jobs they are in. Complete lack of accountability for failure and waste. Line managed by day rate contractors. I had 6 line managers in under 2 years as they all left or were fired. Poorly run projects. Lack of consideration that people need job security - I would advise against taking a FTC there. They do not respect that you need notice and will not let you know if they aren't going to renew. No career progression. People progress based on being friends with the right people not on talent. Management isn't qualified enough themselves to recognise talent. Extremely hierarchical in a way which doesn't compare to any organisation I have been a part of. Very old fashioned. Senior management really appear to believe they are better than the people they manage! They do not like people below them giving their opinions. Only work here if you're prepared to keep your experience & skills to yourself! Not good if you are trying to advance your career.

3.0

Jun 10, 2016

Good enough to be in your c.v, nothing more

Examinations services officer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good environment, good medical coverage and there is job safety

Cons

They must practice what they preach, doesn't give chances to improve

Viewing 43 - 45 of 2,307 Reviews

Jobs at British Council

Executive Exams Operations

Customer Success Coordinator

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Executive - Operations