How Can I Start PF Contributions Mid-Tenure When My Employer Disagrees?

Dear Seniors/Experts,

I joined a company in October 2015. After one month, I realized that the company was not deducting any PF. When I highlighted this to management/Finance, they said that as an employee, I should have mentioned the deduction on the date of joining. They informed me that I could not initiate the PF contribution that year and would have to inform Finance after the completion of 2016.

Now, when I reminded them to initiate my PF effective immediately (I haven't withdrawn my PF contribution from my previous employer—it's with my UAN number), Finance/HR is telling me that employees can't be enrolled into PF mid-tenure. They say that if the Date of Joining and the Date of PF joining are different, it will lead to rejection of PF withdrawal in the future.

Additionally, if during a PF inspection they see that the date of PF is not the same as the Date of Joining, the company will have to pay for the past period and may need to pay a penalty too.

Please suggest how I can initiate mid-tenure PF contribution.

Thanks in advance to everyone.

Join on the current date and pay the difference between the company joining date and EPF joining date under the head "arrears." This will resolve the issue.

EPFO Membership and Employer Responsibilities

Since you are already a member of EPFO, what your current employer has done is wrong as per the Act. They should have deducted at least the maximum slab of Rs. 15,000. I wonder whether they asked you to fill Form 11?

If they opt to pay the arrears, then definitely, they need to pay the interest and damages later for the delay in payment. This will lead to unnecessary trouble for the employer as well as the HR/Finance.

So, to be on the safer side, they won't accept your plea (I feel). But, keep in mind, as per the law, it is your right to avail the PF benefits.

It is your wish whether to opt for PF and insist that they pay the arrears and penalty or to leave it as it is.

PS - You have the option to withdraw your previous PF.

Thank you for your suggestions. I have clearly mentioned that the intention of the employer is not to pay any arrears, and my aim is to secure my future. I don't want to withdraw my previous funds, and I wanted to initiate this contribution. However, the Finance team is now declining to do so, and they have not asked me to fill out Form 11. In case I put pressure on them, there is a chance of losing my job, which is not advisable in this situation. I am seeking alternative suggestions from all you experts and experienced individuals to come up with a win-win solution.

P.S.: Also, note that I offered to pay the arrears from my salary, which was also declined. This indicates their intention to save their contribution part for the future too.

Please suggest.

Important Update on Company Restructuring

To add one more important point, my current company, XYZ Group, is splitting into two entities effective 1st April 2017: XYZ USA Ltd and XYZ Group. In this case, the company is terminating and issuing new appointment letters to employees moving to XYZ USA Ltd (I am part of that). All gratuity and PF will be transferred to the new entity, XYZ USA Ltd, without any change in the date of break of tenure.

Please let me know if, in this scenario, we have an option to initiate employee contributions without paying any arrears to the PF office.

Regards

There is no issue to make a worker join from the back date, especially at the present time. The maximum damage to the employer is Rs 1/-; they can restore their backlogs if not done yet. See the circular by EPFO at http://www.epfindia.com/site_docs/PD...C_04012017.pdf.

Thank you so much; this really helped in solving the purpose. This is an appreciable initiative taken by the Government. I have forwarded the link for the PF re-initiation request to the Finance and HR teams. Can you please provide further information on the following:

Transfer of Inoperative PF Account

1) Can we transfer an inoperative PF account to the current PF account (with a generated UAN number)? If so, do we need to fill out all Form 19, 10C, and 13 along with details from the previous employer, or is there an alternative method to transfer this amount?

Consolidation of Multiple PF Accounts

2) If someone has had multiple PF accounts in the past (due to job changes), can we consolidate all of them under one account using the aforementioned forms and transfer the total amount to one account?

Thank you once again for your help on this crucial matter. I truly appreciate your support.

Regards, SK

Solution for PF Transfer Queries

For all your queries, there is a single-point solution. Ask the member to log in to this portal with their current UAN login credentials. The UAN must be activated at least four days prior to using this site.

After logging in, the member can file a transfer claim for all their back service records, whether in the same UAN or another UAN, operative or inoperative. All should be submitted in sequence.

If the current UAN is KYC compliant, the department will initiate the transfer step by step, subject to data verification of present and past accounts. If they find any discrepancies, they will call the employee (at the UAN registered mobile) for clarification to process the same.

The basic requirement is a current KYC compliant UAN with active contributory membership to accumulate all past EPF accounts.

http://oeoea.epfoservices.com/UANDEDUP/

Thank you, Mr. Sharma. Now, this is much easier to update. I have completed the necessary steps and trained a few more HR people in the organization to continue this process for all employees in need. I appreciate your assistance with this. Thanks to all who can benefit from this detailed discussion.

SK