Confused About Multiple PF Credits in UAN? Here's What Happened and Why It Matters

Hey Folks, Just encountered an incident with a friend. His previous organization has credited the PF amount through three different companies without any information, neither verbal nor written. When clarification was asked for, they informed that they have outsourced the PF to different companies, which is why their entries are coming from multiple sources. Now, this issue is arising during the background check as three different organizations have credited the amount, reflecting in the UAN. Kindly suggest.

It is not the outsourcing of PF; rather, it is the outsourcing of the employees. The employee is not on the payroll of the primary employer (PE); instead, they are under the payroll of a different third party. There are PEs who change outsourced agents or third parties for various reasons.

Until the employee is under the payroll of any organization, PF contributions cannot be deposited in that PF Code. In this case, the employee was engaged for jobs through three different outsourced agents, which the employee was not aware of.

S K Bandyopadhyay (Howrah, WB) CEO - USD HR Solutions [Phone Number Removed For Privacy-Reasons] [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons] USD HR Solutions – To strive towards excellence with effort and integrity

This is not legal. At one time, dual employment was not permissible as per the Factory Act of 1948. Also, when you are going to transfer or for the final settlement, the PF department will reject your claim and ask for clarification or a declaration, etc.

Hi S K Bandyopadhyay, Got your point. However, the situation here is that he received the offer and relieving letter from ABC Company. While working with ABC Company, he accumulated credits in PF (UAN) through three different XYZ Companies. ABC clarified that they have only outsourced the PF division to XYZ companies to fulfill their compliances. Is this legal in India? Now, how can someone justify these UAN transactions to the background verification team?

Hi Prem Chanda Yadav, I agree with your point, but here the situation is different. He has not had any dual employments.

Let me elaborate on it.

Suppose I joined ABC Company in September 2017 and left it in May 2018. Later, while checking my UAN activities, I found that from September 2017 to October 2017, my PF was credited through DEF Company. From November 2017 to March 2018, my PF was credited through GHI Company. From April 2018 to May 2018, my PF was credited through JKL Company.

In this case, what should I do now?

Note: I do not have any documents from DEF, GHI, or JKL, and I have not worked there. I worked under ABC's payroll and have documents of offer and relieving from ABC only.

Dear Ankur-Dagar,

For depositing PF contributions, it is essential to have one PF Code. It is possible to outsource PF-related matters to any outsourced agent. However, if the Principal Employer (PE) has its own code, the deposits will be made under that code rather than the code of the outsourced agent. PF contributions cannot be deposited without someone on the payroll of the organization.

Therefore, my conclusion is that the PE probably does not have a PF Code and has outsourced the employees through a third party. Additionally, there have been three different third parties involved during the employee's service period. This could be to avoid gratuity by changing the third party as the employer, or perhaps some commission is expected by the PE's officials (which is very common in India). It appears that the HR team of the PE is incompetent or unprofessional in handling the situation, as they are issuing offer and relieving letters, which is illegal.

In background verification (BGV), the truth must be brought to light. However, I acknowledge that this poses a problem for the employee.

Regards, S K Bandyopadhyay