5Qualifying service

#### 5 Qualifying service (1) An interim benefit is not payable in respect of a qualified employee unless, at the time when that benefit would be payable in respect of the employee, the employee has completed at least 3 months continuous service: (a) in the case of an employee who, immediately before the benefit became payable, was an eligible employee for the purposes of the Superannuation Act and was employed by a body that was at that time an approved authority for the purposes of that Act—with the body by which the person was employed; or (b) in any other case—as a qualified employee other than an employee to whom paragraph (a) applies; whether or not that service commenced before the commencement of this subsection. (2) For the purposes of this section: (a) a period of leave without pay shall be ignored for the purposes of calculating the length of service of the person, and for the purposes of determining whether the person has had a continuous period of service with an employer; (b) a break in employment for a period not exceeding 6 months by a person included in a prescribed class shall be ignored for the purposes of determining whether the person has had a continuous period of service with an employer; and (c) if a person is employed during a period on a part‑time basis, including a period during which the person receives ongoing compensation payments on such a basis in respect of the person’s current employment, the person’s service during that period shall be reduced by multiplying the number of days in that period by the fraction obtained by dividing the amount of salary, or compensation payments, that the person received in respect of that period by the amount that the person would have received in respect of that period if the person had been paid or received compensation payments on a full‑time basis throughout that period.