6.—(1) The qualifications, remuneration and conditions of service of officers of a special agency shall be determined by the Department.
(2) Regulations made by the Department may make provision with respect to—
(a)the method of appointment of officers of special agencies;
(b)the qualifications, remuneration and conditions of service of such officers of special agencies as may be prescribed;
and an officer such as is mentioned in head (b) shall not be employed otherwise than in accordance with the regulations.
(3) Determinations or regulations under sub-paragraph (1) or (2) may provide for approvals or determinations to have effect from a date specified in them.
(4) The date mentioned in sub-paragraph (3) may be before or after the date of giving the approvals or making the determinations but may not be before if it would be to the detriment of the officers to whom the approvals or determinations relate.
(5) The appointment and removal from office of such officers of special agencies as may be prescribed shall be subject to the approval of the Department.
(6) Where a person becomes an employee of a special agency on direct transfer from employment in the civil service of Northern Ireland or the civil service of the United Kingdom his period of employment in that civil service at the time of the transfer shall count for the purposes of the Contracts of Employment and Redundancy Payments Act (Northern Ireland) 1965(1) and the Industrial Relations (Northern Ireland) Orders 1976 to 1987 as a period of employment by that special agency, and the transfer shall not break the continuity of the period of employment or give rise to any right to a redundancy payment.