(1) This Act, other than section 3(1A), shall not apply to employment in which the employee has been in the continuous service of the employer for less than 4 consecutive weeks.

(2) Where the exclusion of a class or classes of employment from any provision of this Act is justified by objective considerations, the Minister may, after consultation with representatives of employers and of employees within that class or classes of employment, by order declare that that provision shall not apply to that class or those classes of employment and this Act shall have effect in accordance with the provisions of any such order for the time being in force.

(3) The First Schedule to the Act of 1973 shall apply for the purpose of ascertaining for the purposes of this Act the period of service of an employee and whether that service has been continuous with the following modifications and with any other necessary modifications -

(a) subject to subsection (3A), the reference to 21 hours shall be construed as a reference to 3 hours,

(b) the references to an employee shall be construed as references to an employee within the meaning of this Act.