Navigating Legal Settlements After a Tragic Loss: Seeking Clarity on PF, Pension, and More

Dear Friends, please provide me with some information:

My elder brother was killed on duty in a road accident in our hometown in Punjab. He was working as a Field Sales Officer in a Mumbai-based Pharma company registered in NSE. He joined the company on January 1, 2010, and passed away on May 18, 2013. At the time of joining, he nominated our father as the nominee, and on September 25, 2012, he got married. His total service tenure was 3.4 years. I have submitted the FIR, Post Mortem report, and Death certificates as requested by the company.

Now, the company's HR executive has instructed me to send a declaration from the head of the family on a blank paper, duly signed by our father, declaring that the mother and wife will be the nominees for all legal settlements such as PF, Pension, Gratuity, EDLI, Accidental Claim, and Full and Final settlement with the company.

Queries Regarding Legal Settlements

I have some queries:
- Is PF and Pension a compulsory benefit for the wife?
- What is EDLI?
- Could you explain Accidental Claim and Full and Final settlement with the company?
- Do we have the option for only the mother to receive the benefits?
- What about our father, who was nominated by my brother at the time of joining? Can we include him as a nominee along with the wife and mother?

In the meantime, many employees of the company contributed financially through the company web portal. The HR manager handed over two checks of 6 lakhs each to my mother and wife, which were converted into FDs for 5 years at our SBI branch. This contribution was voluntary, as mentioned in the letter provided by the HR manager.

Final Settlement and ESI Clarification

Is this the final settlement from the company?

Could you also explain what ESI is? It was being deducted from my brother's salary since his joining, but we have not received any information regarding it.

Lastly, our family is not involved in any processing; all matters regarding PF, EDLI, claims, etc., are being managed by the company's head office in Mumbai. We have provided all necessary documents like the FIR to them. Should we be aware of anything else in this process?

Thank you,

Vishal

Thank you for your reply. My brother's designation was FSO, i.e., Field Sales Officer. In simple terms, you can say he was an M.R. (Medical Representative) as he worked in a pharmaceutical company.

Regarding salary, I don't have any salary slips from 2012 and 2013; the ones I have are from 2010-11. The salary was around 25,000-30,000 per month, which was not fixed but varied based on expenses. The basic salary was very low, possibly around 7,000 in the last pay or even less. I asked HR to provide me with the last three official salary slips, not the system-generated ones.

Thank you.

Also, he has not nominated any new nominee, but I received a letter from the company stating that due to the marriage of my brother, under some section of the law, the wife automatically becomes the beneficiary for PF, Pension, and EDLI.

Our heartfelt condolences to your family. After marriage, the wife automatically becomes the legal heir and a beneficiary of PF. With regards to the ESI, since your brother was drawing a salary of 25,000-30,000 per month in 2010-11, assuming his salary would have increased to 30,000-35,000 per month in 2013-14, he must not have been covered under the ESIC Act. Assuming his variable pay was equivalent to his gross salary, please check with HR whether he was covered under ESIC or not.

If your brother was not covered under ESIC, the company must have insured him for his medical as well as accidental policy. Please check that too with HR and confirm back to the forum to receive appropriate replies. If your brother is covered under an insurance policy, then the insurance company is also entitled to compensate your family for his death.

It is unlikely that he was a member of the ESI scheme. He is not eligible for gratuity. The letter from the company shows that he was an EPF member. After having a family, an EPF member is supposed to give a fresh nomination in favor of family members. If it is not done, check with the PF office or company HR to know whether in the earlier nomination he certified that his father/mother was dependent on him. If yes, they can obtain an heirship certificate from the court. Otherwise, they or his brother will not get any benefit.

Regards,
Varghese Mathew