Adult social care (ASC) in England faces persistent workforce challenges, including low pay, insecure contracts, high turnover, fragmented career pathways, and chronic vacancy pressures. In response, the UK government has introduced sector-level Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs) alongside wider Employment Rights reforms—representing the most significant restructuring of employment regulation in the sector in decades. These reforms aim to improve pay, strengthen employment protections, and enhance recruitment and retention. However, there is limited empirical evidence on how sectoral pay-setting and expanded employment rights will operate within a predominantly outsourced and provider-fragmented care market. This paper presents early findings from a national mixed-methods evaluation of FPAs and Employment Rights reform in ASC. It draws on three strands of analysis: (1) baseline analysis of pay distribution, contract types, job quality indicators, and turnover using national workforce datasets; (2) a structured review of international evidence on sectoral bargaining and care workforce reform; and (3) a stakeholder-informed Theory of Change identifying implementation pathways, mechanisms of impact, and system-level risks. Baseline findings highlight substantial regional and provider-level variation, continued reliance on insecure employment models, and persistent pay gaps relative to comparable occupations. While stakeholders express cautious optimism about the potential to reset employment standards, they also raise concerns regarding funding sufficiency, implementation capacity, compliance burden, and possible unintended consequences for smaller providers. The paper provides timely evidence on the opportunities and constraints associated with collective pay-setting and strengthened employment rights in ASC, and considers whether these reforms can support more sustainable care work, improved workforce stability, and enhanced care quality within a complex mixed-economy system.