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?

"Good work life balance and focus on employee well being" ((in 123 reviews)); "Great people to work with and for." ((in 113 reviews)); "Great working environment and friendly" ((in 68 reviews)); "It's just a shame that the good culture was destroyed by bad organisational management." ((in 59 reviews)); "Entry level internship position gave me something worthwhile to add to my cv and was a good opportunity for some networking." ((in 56 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 118 reviews)); "But yes Management is Poor and Biased !" ((in 102 reviews)); "Those in senior leadership positions tend to serve themselves and their careers ahead of the corporate mission." ((in 33 reviews)); "This permeates across different offices and countries too as the managers have very often mixed a lot in past roles." ((in 30 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

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

3.0

Feb 1, 2018

Mixed.

Senior financial analyst

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Wonderful staff around the world who genuinely care about the business. Wonderful team in Manchester. Good holiday (32 days). Flexible working.

Cons

Lack of strategy/vision/direction from global leadership , too heavy a focus on savings through headcount, not enough focus on how to better ourselves as an organisation.

5.0

Jan 25, 2018

Supportive, fun, flexible environment

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

There is wonderful camaraderie among the staff. Colleagues are supportive of each other and develop close friendships. The mission of the organisation is morally admirable and everyone who works there believes in it. There is the opportunity to be creative and flexible in terms of coming up with ideas for projects: a colleague once described it as 'choose your own adventure'. The work is constantly changing and stays interesting. There's an excellent benefits package, flexible working, and lots of fun perks including career development opportunities (in terms of broadening experience, rather than rising up the ranks).

Cons

Some colleagues get burnt out and overwhelmed from the workload. Compensation is on the low side because it is public sector, and there is little opportunity for most staff to progress past a certain level.

4.0

Jul 19, 2017

Good work/life balance, terrible salary

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

- Interesting environment and colleagues] - Possibility to work overseas - Good work/life balance (holiday, flexible working) - Great maternity cover

Cons

- Salaries very low (even for charity sector - Bureaucratic and unclear decision making processes - Difficult to progress to senior management - Non ending restructure programmes

Viewing 67 - 69 of 2,307 Reviews

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