Abstract
In this development paper, we consider how to determine job quality for adult social care workers. We adopt a sector-specific model of job quality and present findings that evidence that some elements of the role can be considered high quality, while others cannot. We argue that this helps to explain paradoxical findings over low pay but high job satisfaction in the care worker role. Theoretically, we argue that the search for a single model of job quality is flawed and that, while a core of elements of job quality is likely to exist, role specific measures are also needed to fully understand what ‘good’ looks like in any given job.