It gets a raise if it does its job well (6,4)
I believe the answer is:
baking soda
'it' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'a raise if it does its job well' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' is within the answer.
'well' could be 'so' (both can mean extremely) and 'so' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'gets' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for baking soda that I've seen before include "possible antacid" , "Common name for sodium bicarbonate" .)