Can a Company Set Up a PF Account for an Ex-Employee After They've Left? Seeking Advice

Hi, I am wondering if there is a way a company can create a PF account for an employee who has left the company for his/her settlement. In a nutshell, a company, operating as a startup without PF account details, was working parallelly to establish an account when the employee departed. Now, the company states that they will create an account and settle the amount in the PF account. I am unsure if this can be done or if there is a way to resolve this issue. I appreciate your help in advance.

Thanks,
Kumar

If a person worked for only one day, PF should still be deducted. If you deduct the PF, then you must remit the same to EPFO. Here, according to your perspective, the employee has left the organization. However, since the PF has been deducted, it must be remitted. In the latest ECR format, you will mention the joining date as well as the leaving date within the same month.

Thanks Bhaskar for the reply. The company doesn't have any formalities of PF deduction in the payslips. It shows the amount deducted, but there are no details of the PF account for at least 6 months. Now the employee has left the company, and the company still says they will create an account and settle the amount through PF. My question is, if the employee left the company, can the company still create an account and settle the amount through PF?

Thanks,

Kumar

You can settle the remaining amount in Part "D" of the ECR file, provided you have all the necessary PF details (like the PF number) of the employee. However, as you have mentioned that there are no available PF details of that employee, it shows that you are not maintaining compliance with the statutory laws.

Regards,
Siddhesh Lakhan,
CEO & Founder at Personal Thoughts

Once the PF was not deducted by the employer in previous months, it means he was not allotted a PF number. Obviously, if now the remittances are required to be made for the previous months while the company is yet to get registered, this is not possible unless authorized by the PF authorities, as this whole thing will be accounted for with penalties.

Thanks,
Bijay