Employer Not Paying PF Deductions: Is Filing a Grievance Safe for Employees?

Dear Portal viewers,

I am working in one of the private firms in Bangalore where the employer is deducting PF amounts from employees' salaries but not paying it to the PF office. We have our UAN number to check the passbook on the PF online website and are aware that the employer hasn't paid the PF deducted to the PF office or employee account for the last 15 months.

My question is:

Will the employer find out if we file a grievance online (through PF office personnel), and is there a possibility that the employer will trouble the employee for doing so? Kindly advise.

Regards, Anuradha

Hi Anuradha,

You can raise the grievance mentioning that your passbook is not updated. There might be a chance that your employer might have made the payment, but the passbook has not been updated. You can directly connect with your HR person to check the status of PF payment and address the issue with your passbook.

Dealing with Unpaid PF Contributions

There cannot be two ways to deal with PF contributions not being updated. Just check with HR about the matter and show them the latest date of the deposit of the employer's contribution. Failure to remit the deducted portion of PF is an offense, and the employer will get penalized if found to be true. Has no one asked HR about this in the last 15 months?

Actions Possible Under the EPF & MP Act, 1952

(i) Action under Section 7A of the EPF & MP Act, 1952 against the defaulting establishments for assessment of dues.

(ii) Action under Section 14B of the Act for levying of damages for late depositing of dues.

(iii) Action under Section 7Q of the Act for the levy of interest for belated remittances.

(iv) Recovery actions as laid down under Sections 8B to 8G of the Act.

(v) Action under Section 14 of the Act for filing prosecution against the defaulters before a competent court of law.

(vi) Action under Section 406/409 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the employer for non-payment of employees’ share of contribution deducted from the wages/salary of the employees but not deposited in the Fund.

If you complain, the employer may come to know of it, but EPF inspectors do come for checks on their own. The employer may trouble the complaining employees, but as outsiders, we cannot comment on their mindset. First, as already suggested, meet HR and show them the last entry of PF and request them to look into the matter. Subsequent steps can follow.

Thank you, Mr. Praveen Bhosale and Mr. Nathrao, for your replies and suggestions. We have been contacting our HR department for the past year, and they have informed us that there is no allocation of funds for paying the PF amount to the PF office. They mentioned that it could be paid in the coming months; however, up to now, no payments have been made, and they openly admit that they have not made the payments.

My concern is if we report this issue to the PF officials, will they become aware of our complaint and potentially jeopardize our jobs? This fear has prevented us from reaching out to the PF officials all this time.

Please advise on any alternative methods to bring this matter to the attention of PF officials without revealing our identities. Would an anonymous complaint be considered?

Thank you for your guidance.

Anuradha

Please raise a grievance against the employer's EPF office directly. Contact them.

Please raise a grievance against the employer's EPF office directly. Contact them.