27. (1) The Minister may designate for employment by the Office a person who, immediately before the establishment day, was an officer of the Minister.

(2) Save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with a recognised trade union or staff association concerned, a person designated by the Minister under subsection (1) shall not, on the employment transfer day, be brought to less beneficial conditions of remuneration than the conditions of remuneration to which he or she was subject immediately before the employment transfer day.

(3) In subsection (2), a reference to conditions of remuneration does not include conditions in relation to superannuation.

(4) In relation to a person designated by the Minister under subsection (1), previous service in the civil service shall be reckonable for the purposes of, but subject to any other exceptions or exclusions in—

(a) the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2014,

(b) the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001,

(c) the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003,

(d) the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997,

(e) the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973 to 2005,

(f) the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2015,

(g) the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994 to 2012,

(h) the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004,

(i) the Adoptive Leave Acts 1995 and 2005,

(j) the Parental Leave Acts 1998 and 2006, and

(k) the Carer’s Leave Act 2001.

(5) Save in accordance with any collective agreement negotiated with a recognised trade union or staff association and approved by the Minister, a person designated by the Minister under subsection (1) who, immediately before the employment transfer day, was a member of a staff superannuation scheme shall, on and after the employment transfer day, continue to be a member of such scheme in accordance with its terms and conditions in force from time to time.

(6) In this section, “employment transfer day” means, in relation to a person designated by the Minister under subsection (1), such day as may be specified in writing by the Minister.