Employee Passed Away on Leave: Can We Update PF as "Death in Service" for Benefits?

An employee died during his leave of absence. He was critically ill. Can it be updated in the PF portal as "Death in Service"? What about his benefits from PF (EDLI/Pension)?

Understanding Leave of Absence (LOP) and PF Records

LOP does not mean that the employee was not in service. It is only an arrangement for leave when the employee falls short of paid leave. If the date of exit shown in the PF records is after the date of death, the dependents of the deceased employee will receive all the benefits like EDLI and Pension.

Important Considerations for PF Exit Date

Therefore, do not put the date just after the date of death as the date of exit. Please remember that if you put even the same date of death, the application for EDLI will be rejected, stating that the death occurred not while in service but after the exit from service. Therefore, put the date succeeding the date of death as the exit date.

Thanks, Madhu. So, if the date of death is on the 5th of September 2023, then the date of execution (DOE) should be set for the 6th of September 2023.

Hi, DOE should be 5th Sep 2023 only. When the employee is deceased on 5th Sep 2023 itself, how come you remove it by the closing hours of 6th Sep 2023?

If you mark the exit on 5th Sept, the EPF will definitely reject the claim for EDLI, saying that death did not occur while in service. It is appropriate in the case of an employee joining another organization on the date immediately following the exit from the previous company, but in the event of death, it should be the date following the date of death. I have had a lot of correspondence with EPFO regarding this matter from my past experience. That is why I am suggesting never to input the same date of exit in cases of death.

Mr. Madhu,

I don't think 6.9.23 will be appropriate. The employment contract between the employer and employee ends on the date of the employee's death. In such a situation, how can the last working day (LWD) be after the death date? We have processed a few claims where the LWD was marked to match the death date of the employee only.

Mr. Lakshmi Narayanan,

This is because the death may occur after working hours, i.e., after the last working day, or after the employee has been marked as exited. In the case of an employee joining another organization the following day, it is true that we should set the last working day as the exit day. However, in all other cases, it is safer to put the next day as the date of exit. If you are confident, you can set the date of death as the date of exit and then engage in numerous correspondences to prove that the employee was in service until the date of death. Immediately upon hearing the news of his death, we exited him, without delving into the details that a day means 24 hours starting from midnight at 12:01 and ending at midnight at 12:00, etc. Until the time of death, we had a legal contract with the employee, and since the death occurred during the day, say at 11 am, he would cease to be an employee after the remaining hours of the day. Therefore, his death could only be considered as death while in service, etc.

Akheel, I have provided a practical solution from my own experience. You may keep the marking of exit pending, seek proper advice, and act accordingly.