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?

"Meaningful and some great colleagues" ((in 179 reviews)); "Good work life balance and focus on employee well being" ((in 122 reviews)); "Great people to work with and for." ((in 111 reviews)); "Great working environment and friendly" ((in 74 reviews)); "It's just a shame that the good culture was destroyed by bad organisational management." ((in 68 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 208 reviews)); "Low pay and insanely bureaucratic" ((in 108 reviews)); "But yes Management is Poor and Biased !" ((in 100 reviews)); "there was poor organisation and leadership" ((in 36 reviews)); "This permeates across different offices and countries too as the managers have very often mixed a lot in past roles." ((in 32 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

(2,306 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

1.0

Jan 10, 2023

Racist, nepotistic and wasteful

Communications manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Lots of talented people around the world and an interesting mission.

Cons

The British Council has a culture of racism and bullying. White, British people are over promoted and people of colour are subjected to constant micro aggressions. People not in the UK are undervalued and disrespected. Bullying and nepotism are endemic, especially in Human Resources and Marketing. Money is often given to projects that have no purpose. Salaries are very low for most people. Promotion is often based on who you know and trust in leadership is low.

2.0

May 29, 2018

Great staff but TERRIBLE management.

High school english teacher

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

You will get to work with the most supportive and helpful staff members. Some very lovely students

Cons

The absolute worst managers you could imagine. The British Council School is so poorly managed that staff turnover is incredibly high. 5 members of the English department quit this year. Ridiculously high workload which is exacerbated by so many pointless admin tasks which are there just to make a pretence that the school cares about its students. It doesn't. It cares about their parents money and nothing else. Entitled, rude students are becoming the norm and the school turns a blind eye to all of this. An atmosphere of fear prevails. Teachers are terrified that they will be fired if they so much as look at the wrong person in the wrong let alone suggest that there could be better ways to do thing. During my time I saw many colleagues fired with absolutely NO warning whatsoever and the school seems to delight in doing this.

1.0

Sep 10, 2016

Exams Operations Officer

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

No good came to me off this place.

Cons

Pathetic workplace to be honest. The line manager lacked people management competence.

Viewing 22 - 24 of 2,306 Reviews

Jobs at British Council

Executive - Operations

Executive Exams Operations

Customer Success Coordinator