ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the work structure, wages and the role of gender and migration in the social care sector in England where marketization and personalization form key pillars of social care provision for adults and older people. The analysis is based on empirical studies on the English social care workforce spanning from 2010 to 2016. Primarily quantitative and qualitative data obtained from front-line care workers, employers and service users are analysed to further understand the reasons behind persistent low wages in the sector. The chapter provides an overview of the organization of social care in England and the characteristics of its workforce. It also provides evidence of unresolved job stress in the care sector utilizing the Karasek control-demand model and explores subsequent moral distress among social care workers. The chapter draws on the analysis of the National Minimum Dataset for Social Care, which is recognized as the main source of workforce information for the long-term care sector in England.
