Confused About PF and Gratuity Deductions in CTC? Seeking Advice on Salary Discrepancies

Hi All, When I joined my current organization, I wasn't informed that PF deductions (a part contributed by the company) are included in the CTC. There is a significant discrepancy between what was offered in the appointment letters and what is reflected on the salary slips. Upon inquiry with the HR department, they explained that PF is deducted twice and gratuity is also part of it, though not explicitly mentioned in the salary slip.

Please suggest any recommendations or advice on this matter.

Regards

CTC is basically the total cost spent by the employer on an employee. CTC includes direct and indirect benefits given to that employee. If the CTC breakup has the details, it's not an issue. However, if it is deducted from the gross wages mentioned in the offer letter, which is not acceptable, the employer can't do that.

So, anyone who is offered the job needs to check all clauses mentioned in the CTC breakup. A better option would be to check your take-home pay out of the breakup for better understanding. This way, there won't be any queries raised after receiving the first month's salary or payslip.

Almost all salaried people contribute a certain percentage of their salary towards their Employee Provident Fund (EPF) account every month. EPF is an effective tool that helps generate a corpus for life post-retirement; you can make a withdrawal from your EPF account for urgent cash requirements.

CTC stands for Cost to Company, which actually refers to the total cost of an employee for the company. Therefore, the PF contribution made by the employer can be a part of the CTC; there is nothing wrong with that. However, if the employer's contribution to PF is considered a part of your gross salary, then it would be seen as a wrong practice.

Gratuity and CTC

Moving on to gratuity, nowadays many companies have adopted the practice of including the gratuity amount as a part of the CTC, which they are allowed to do. Nevertheless, I personally believe that it should not be included in the CTC, as it is paid at the time of exiting the company after five years, representing a reward for an employee's loyalty.

In any case, there is little you can do about this except ensuring that next time, when accepting an offer, you thoroughly review each component of the salary mentioned in the offer letter.

Regards,
Ashutosh

Understanding CTC and EPF Deductions

In my point of view, CTC stands for Cost to Company, which simply means the cost borne by an employer for an employee. As far as the deduction of the EPF part is concerned, the employee's share can't be taken into account in the calculation of CTC. Only the employer's part can be considered, i.e., 12% + administrative charges.

Thanks & Regards,
Sumit Kumar Saxena