3.A.5.—(1) In this Part, references to a member’s qualifying service, are references to the aggregate of the following periods—
(a)the member’s pensionable service under this Part other than such pensionable service as is referred to in regulation 3.A.3(1)(c) (meaning of “pensionable service”);
(b)in the case of a person in respect of whom a transfer value in respect of the person’s rights under another pension arrangement (including the 1995 Section) has been accepted under Chapter 3.F (transfers), a period equal to the person’s period as an active member in any occupational pension scheme in respect of which the rights accrued;
(c)any period treated as qualifying service under paragraph (3) or under regulation 3.A.6 (qualifying service: disregard of breaks in service);
(d)where the member ceased to be an active member under Part 2 less than 12 months before becoming a member under this Part, any period of qualifying service under Part 2;
(e)in the case of a person—
(i)who is eligible to join this Section of the scheme by virtue of regulation 3.B.1(5)(c) (eligibility: general); and
(ii)for whom the interval between leaving the 1995 Section and joining this Section of the scheme is less than one month,
a period equal to the period of qualifying service (within the meaning of the 2011 Regulations), measured in years and days, that the member was entitled to count under regulation C3 (meaning of “qualifying service”) of the 2011 Regulations when the member left the 1995 Section;
(f)in the case of a 2008 Section Optant, any period of qualifying service the member is entitled to count under Chapter 3.K (2008 Section Optants);
(g)in the case of a Waiting Period Joiner (as defined in regulation 3.L.1(2)), a period equal in length to the period of qualifying service which the member is entitled to count under the 1995 Section;
(h)in the case of a person who is eligible to join this Section of the scheme by virtue of regulation 3.B.1(5)(e), (g) or (h) (eligibility: general), a period equal in length to the period of qualifying service which the member is entitled to count under the 1995 Section; and
(i)any period of service which the member was entitled to count as qualifying service under section 3.A.5 (meaning of “qualifying service”) of the 2008 Regulations immediately before these Regulations came into force.
(2) Paragraph (3) applies if the member is a locum practitioner who—
(a)ceases to be engaged as such a practitioner and so ceases to be treated as being in pensionable service; and
(b)is re-engaged as a locum practitioner before the expiry of a period not exceeding three months from the date of such cessation.
(3) Where this paragraph applies—
(a)a locum practitioner is to be treated as continuing to be in qualifying service during the period of non-engagement as such a practitioner and is not required to re-join this Section of the scheme on being re-engaged as a locum practitioner; and
(b)that period does not count as practitioner service(1).
For the other rules applying where there is a short break in service, see regulation 3.A.6 (qualifying service: disregard of breaks in service).