“Application of Act to certain civil servants.

2A.—(1) For the purposes of this Act, as respects the dismissal of a person who prior to such dismissal was a civil servant a reference in this Act to an ‘employee’ shall be construed as including a civil servant who held office in the Civil Service of the Government or in the Civil Service of the State.

(2) Subject to subsection (4), for the purposes of this Act, as respects the dismissal of a person who prior to such dismissal was a civil servant a reference in this Act to an ‘employer’ shall be construed as including the State, a Minister of the Government, a Department or a Scheduled Office (which term has the same meaning as it has in the Civil Service Regulation Act 1956) in which the civil servant concerned held office prior to the dismissal.

(3) As respects a civil servant to whom this Act applies, for the purposes of this Act, ‘contract of employment’ means such arrangements as are made by the Minister for Finance under section 17 of the Civil Service Regulation Act 1956, together with such further terms and conditions of service which apply to the civil servant concerned, made in respect of a particular Department or Scheduled Office which extend or alter the arrangements under the said section 17.

(4) For the purposes of this section and the First Schedule—

(a) ‘Department’ includes such bodies or organisations (whether established by or under statute, or otherwise) other than a Scheduled Office, for which the Minister having charge of the Department concerned is responsible, and

(b) ‘Scheduled Office’ includes such bodies or organisations (whether established by or under statute or otherwise) for which the Minister of the Government having charge of the Scheduled Office is responsible.

(5) Where, as respects a person who was dismissed as a civil servant, the dismissal is found to be an unfair dismissal, and the rights commissioner, the Tribunal or the Circuit Court, as the case may be, considers, pursuant to section 7, that it is appropriate that such person be re-engaged or re-instated, the right of re-instatement or re-engagement shall be construed to be a right to be re-instated or re-engaged, as the case may be, in the grade or rank held by that civil servant prior to his dismissal.

(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting the status of a civil servant as an officer.”.