17. (1) In this section “Housing Agency” means the Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency.

(2) The chief executive officer of the Housing Agency, in consultation with the Regulator and with the consent of the Minister, may designate for employment by the Regulator a person who, immediately before the establishment day, was an employee of the Housing Agency.

(3) Any employee of the Housing Agency transferred to the Regulator under this section shall, on the date of transfer, become and be a member of the staff of the Regulator.

(4) Save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with a recognised trade union or association of employees, a person transferred under this section is entitled, while in the employment of the Regulator, to terms and conditions of employment no less favourable than those to which the person was entitled immediately before the date of his or her transfer to the Regulator.

(5) Until the terms and conditions of employment to which a person transferred under this section was entitled immediately before the date of his or her transfer to the Regulator are varied by the Regulator after consulting and reaching a collective agreement with the recognised trade union or association of employees concerned, they continue to apply to the person transferred to the Regulator.

(6) The previous service of a person transferred under this section is to be counted as service for the purposes of, but subject to any exceptions or exclusions in, the following Acts:

(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 2014;

(h) the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004;

(i) the Parental Leave Acts 1998 to 2019;

(j) the Adoptive Leave Acts 1995 and 2005;

(k) the Carer’s Leave Act 2001;

(l) the Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016.

(7) The pension payments and other superannuation liabilities of the Housing Agency in respect of its former employees transferred in accordance with this section become, on the date of transfer of each employee concerned to the Regulator, the liabilities of the Regulator.