Employee Refuses Aadhar Linking for EPF: Can We Take Disciplinary Action?

Hi Seniors, we have come across something in our organization which is quite unique.

In the last few days, we have been in the process of linking Aadhar numbers with the respective UANs for the active members in our organization. We are asking for Aadhar numbers from the employees individually.

Employee refusal to provide Aadhar

One of the employees refused to give us his Aadhar number, stating the verdict of the Constitutional Bench of the Apex Court from 2015, which states Aadhar is voluntary, not mandatory. We countered him by mentioning yesterday's verdict of the Supreme Court, which upholds the notification made by the Government of India stating Aadhar linking is mandatory if you have it.

However, he again replied that the very foundation of Aadhar is in question regarding the violation of the right to privacy of the Indian constitution, and this matter is due for a hearing in front of a constitutional bench. Therefore, by law, he will adhere to the last verdict made by the "Highest Possible Bench of the Apex Court."

Seeking advice on disciplinary action

We have no idea what we should do now. Can we go ahead with any kind of disciplinary action against him? And if we don't link his Aadhar with his UAN, what problems might we face?

We are at a loss. Can somebody shed some light on this issue?

Thank you.

Hi Mr. Arnab,

Quite interesting. Normally, employees will not object to updating the Aadhar card in records. I hope he does not understand the benefits of updating the Aadhar card. In the future, all claims will be cleared, i.e., PF withdrawal, pension benefits, etc. Try to advise and help him understand, or he can inquire at the PF office near his area. For the employer, there is no harm if the Aadhar card number is not updated. In any case, please keep a record that he is not supportive of the situation.

Hello Arnab, here's my suggestion:

1) Convey the message to the member that it's a requirement of the EPF for the employer to ensure that the Aadhaar is linked with the UAN. It's quite likely that a member would not be able to withdraw his/her PF without this linkage.

2) EPF may hold the establishment responsible if any of their members' Aadhaar is not linked with the UAN. So, you should take a declaration from this particular member employee stating that he is not submitting/will not submit his Aadhaar due to... (whatever the reason may be).

3) You may continue to advise him or exchange correspondence/information regarding the various court verdicts, but it's better to stay safe by taking the self-declaration from such employees.

The EPF website is not fully operational, and if I am not mistaken, it's been months/almost over a year in this scenario. Some things on the website have been updated over time during this period, but there are a lot of aspects that are still not operational on this website. It's quite evident that it's going to take even more time for the EPF site to get fully upgraded and functional. All that we can do now as employers and members is to wait and watch.

Cheers,

A.B.

Challenges in Linking Aadhaar with UAN Accounts

Recently, when I tried, only 10% of my employees' Aadhaar is linked with the UAN Account. The rest are rejected due to various reasons (name, DOB, or gender mismatch with the PF records). Even the last name, surname, and initials are getting rejected. Additionally, the Aadhaar is rejected even if there is no mismatch when checked against the original PF records.

In this case, they can't blame the employer for not linking the Aadhaar, as there are operational issues.

PS: PAN doesn't link at all. As confirmed by PF officials themselves, they have an issue with PAN linking.

Thank you all for your invaluable suggestions. As suggested, we have requested him to give us a declaration stating the reason for not submitting the Aadhar so as to complete the linking process with the UAN. However, he's ready to give it and confirmed that by the 3rd, he would send it to us.

Questioning the Refusal

But that leads to another question. He's a guy earning more than 80K net take-home every month, having Engineering as well as Management degrees. Why does he reject it altogether in the very first place? We have tried to communicate with him to understand what is going on in his mind, but we failed to comprehend that somehow.

Legal Constraints

Legally speaking, we cannot do anything to him unless and until he provides the Aadhar number himself or the legality of this country forces him to submit the said number. This situation is quite weird to some extent.

Understanding His Perspective

As far as his education and position in the organization are concerned, he's quite well-educated. Since he keeps so much information regarding the verdicts of the Supreme Court regarding Aadhar, he knows the pros and cons very well, I presume. Yet, he is not cooperating. The only thing he is saying is that he won't give it unless the Supreme Court mandates Aadhar.

We neither have any way to convince him nor have anything to do as far as this particular linking is concerned, other than watching it unfold.

Thank you.

The Stand on Aadhaar

His stand is not weird at all. It is a very principled one and also ethical. There are multiple issues with Aadhaar, including those related to data privacy and basic efficacy. This is the reason for it being contentious, and the matter is being debated widely, both in civil society as well as the highest court of India.

I have several acquaintances who have either refused to get an Aadhaar card made or refused to link it to schemes (lawfully). They are doing just fine. Let's see what the Supreme Court has to say and respect their decision until then.

Regards,
SSF, Mumbai

To convey his/her UAN to the employee and ask them to activate UAN and update their KYC within two weeks. There is no need to provide the details to the employer as it will appear on the employer portal for DSC verification.

He cannot deny the KYC norms because starting from April 2018, only Aadhaar-verified claims are accepted by the department; others are simply rejected.

Respected Members,

If an employee does not have an Aadhar Card, nor has he enrolled himself for Aadhar, in such cases, if the employee needs to be registered for new UAN Generation, how can he be registered as the online form shows Aadhar as a mandatory option? Is there any other way out?