Why it matters that we're Living Wage Accredited

We've just become officially Living Wage accredited.

Before you scroll past thinking this is corporate announcement speak, let me explain why this matters for our team and for what we mean by premium service.

What Living Wage Accreditation Actually Means

The Living Wage Foundation sets a real living wage: the amount a person actually needs to earn to cover essentials with dignity. It's higher than the government's minimum wage. It accounts for rent, food, transport, childcare, unexpected costs. It's the difference between surviving and actually living.

Being accredited means we've committed to paying all our team—every cleaner, every administrator, every member of our business—that real living wage. Not as a nice-to-have. As standard.

Sounds obvious, right? It should be. But in the cleaning industry—even for professional cleaners and Oxford cleaning services—it's the exception.

Why We Did This

When I started Christina's Cleaners, I had one north star: build something that proved premium service and genuine values could coexist. That you could charge premium prices, pay premium wages, use premium products, and actually build a sustainable business.

Most cleaning services compete on price. Cheaper rates, faster turnaround, acceptable quality for the cost. It's a race to the bottom—and the people who lose are the team members doing the actual work.

I came to the UK from Ukraine. I've experienced what happens when you're treated as disposable labour. I've watched people work jobs that don't pay enough to build a real life. I wasn't going to build a business that did that to anyone else.

So from day one, we paid more than minimum wage. We offered consistency—the same team for each client. We provided training and development. We treated our cleaners as professionals, not interchangeable units.

But there's a difference between paying well and paying the real living wage. The gap is narrow, but it's real. And it required us to be intentional about it.

Getting Living Wage accreditation meant formalising that commitment, having it externally verified, and being publicly accountable for it.

It also meant setting our cleaner rates so the economics work sustainably. Because here's the truth: premium wages require premium pricing. There's no way around it. Either customers pay fairly, or team members pay the cost.

What This Means for Yuliia and Our Team

Our team isn't abstract. Yuliia has worked with us since the early days. They're people who've built this business with me.

When we achieved Living Wage accreditation, it meant:

• Their hourly wage is now based on what they actually need to live, not what the government says is acceptable minimum
• They have guaranteed income and consistent hours
• They can stop worrying about whether they can afford rent that month
• They can invest in themselves—whether that's training, hobbies, or just having breathing room in their budget

Yuliia said she feels respected as a professional whose work has real value.

That's what living wage actually unlocks: dignity. Stability. The ability to build a life.

The Business Case

Here's what corporate logic says: paying more reduces profits. Simple math.

Here's what we've actually experienced:

Lower turnover. When people are paid fairly and treated with respect, they don't leave. We've maintained a stable core team from the start. That's rare in cleaning services. Turnover is incredibly expensive. Stability is worth far more than the wage difference.

Better quality. People who aren't stressed about money do better work. They have mental space to care about detail. They show up present. They build relationships with clients instead of just doing transactions.

Stronger business. We can charge premium prices because we deliver a premium cleaning service and premium results. Those results come from a team that's stable, trained, and actually invested in the work. The wage isn't a cost centre; it's an investment in the business.

Ethical positioning. In a market increasingly driven by values, being genuinely ethical is differentiation. Our customers know their team is paid fairly. That's part of the service promise.

So the accreditation isn't a sacrifice. It's actually the smarter business model. It just requires that we price our service to match the value we deliver.

How This Connects to Everything Else We Do

Christina's Cleaners has always been about holistic values. We use plant-based, non-toxic products because we don't want to poison water systems or our team's breathing air. We're eco-friendly because it matters.

Living Wage accreditation is part of the same philosophy: premium service means ethical all the way down.

You can't claim to be sustainable while paying people poverty wages. You can't claim to be community-first while squeezing your team's margins. You can't claim to be premium while cutting costs on the people doing the work.

The Christina's Standard means:

• Deep clean + maintenance system
• Eco-friendly products as standard
• Consistent, trained team
• Fair wages
• Values all the way down

Each piece matters. Each piece is connected.

What This Means for Our Customers

When you book Christina's Cleaners, you're supporting:

• A fair-wages cleaning service that treats people fairly
• A team that's stable and invested in doing good work
• An ethical alternative to the race-to-the-bottom of conventional cleaning services
• A values-driven company that walks the talk on sustainability

Your premium investment goes somewhere real. When you compare cleaner rates, ours fund fair wages, training, consistency, and actually sustainable business practices.

The Harder Conversation: Why This Isn't Standard

Living Wage accreditation should be basic. It should be the expectation, not the exception.

The reason it's not is systemic. Cleaning services are deliberately undervalued. It's considered unskilled labour—it isn't; it requires training, judgment, and skill. It's often done by women and migrants, whose labour is chronically undervalued. The industry is fragmented, competitive on price, and structured to squeeze workers.

Until we collectively decide that people deserve to be paid fairly for their work, this will remain a differentiator instead of a baseline.

But businesses can choose differently. We did. And we're Living Wage accredited because we believe it's the only honest way to operate.

Moving Forward

This accreditation is a commitment we're formalizing and being held accountable to. We'll maintain it. We'll build on it. And we'll continue proving that premium service with genuine values is a viable business model.

If you've worked with us, thank you for supporting this approach. If you're considering it, know that when you choose Christina's Cleaners, you're choosing a team that's paid fairly, treated with respect, and genuinely invested in your home.

In short

• We're Living Wage accredited: every team member is paid the real living wage, not the legal minimum.
• Our cleaner rates reflect that—and fund stability, training, and quality.
• Choosing us means supporting a fair-wages Oxford cleaning service that puts values all the way down.

Ready to support a business that actually walks the talk? Request a Deep Clean or Learn More About Our Standards. You can also see how we work and the team behind the service.