Opting for PF: How to Handle Enrollment for High-Wage Employees Excluded at Joining

Can any member help me with a declaration regarding opting for PF during employment, as the employee was excluded at the time of joining due to higher wages?

I think the issue is like this. That one employee whose salary at the time of joining was higher than Rs 15,000 was excluded from EPF. (You should have collected Form 11, which declared that he was NOT a member of EPF in his earlier establishments). Now he wants to get covered. You are also willing to contribute to PF.

If this is the situation, you should get a letter from the employee stating that he would like to be covered by PF and that he had earlier opted not to have PF, but from today's date, he would like to be part of it. Based on this request, you can cover him under PF. The date of his joining will be the current date and not his actual date of joining.

Again, since his salary is already above Rs 15,000, he should be covered only under EPF, and your (employer) contribution of 12% should be put under EPF alone without bifurcating it as 8.33% to the Pension Fund and 3.67% to PF.

You can fill out Form 11 as Form 11 EPF is used for the declaration of an employee for both the Provident Fund and Pension Scheme. Any individual taking up employment in an organization where the Employees' Provident Fund and Family Pension Scheme are in force must fill out this form as a mandate.

Thank you, Madhu, for your prompt reply. Yes, your understanding is correct. The employee had a salary of over 15,000 and submitted Form 11, stating that he/she was not a member of EPF in the previous employment. Now, for tax-saving purposes, the employee wants to enroll in EPF, and we are fundamentally okay to allow EPF contribution. I was just looking for any specific request form designed by any member that we can ask from the employee. If not readily available, I can prepare the same.

No, there is no statutory form for that. You can take a request from the employee and start contributing to PF from the current date. Please make sure that there will not be any dispute from his side because for PF, his date of joining will be the current date.

Form 11 and Joint Declaration for EPF Coverage

Only Form 11 will suffice to determine whether to cover or not cover an employee under EPF. However, it is advisable to have a Joint Declaration letter by both the employee and employer to ensure coverage under EPF. You can specify whether the contribution is 12% of the total EPF wages or restricted to Rs. 15,000/-.