Can I Enroll an Employee in PF with Different Joining Dates for ESIC and PF?

Dear Sir, Kindly confirm as I have already enrolled one of our salesmen in ESIC with effect from 01-06-2023. Now, management wants to enroll him in PF as well, effective from 01-09-2023.

So, please suggest if I may enroll him in PF, considering there will be a mismatch in the date of joining for ESIC (01-06-2023) and PF (01-09-2023).

Would this be non-compliant, or is there an alternative solution?

Thanks in advance.

Regards, R.K. Chauhan

Possibilities for PF and ESI Coverage

There are two possibilities. If the salary of the employee was, say, Rs 19,000, he would be covered under ESI. If that employee was not an existing member of PF, i.e., when he joined your establishment he had no PF account with his earlier employment, then you could exclude him from PF because at the time of joining his salary exceeded Rs 15,000 and thus you did not cover him. Now, both of you decide that he may be given PF, though not the Pension Fund, with effect from 1st Sept. Therefore, you have given him coverage effective from this month. If this is the situation, there is no non-compliance.

Scenario of Neglected Coverage

If the situation is that his salary was less than Rs 15,000 and you neglected his coverage under EPF, or if his salary is more than Rs 15,000 but he is already a member of PF having a UAN generated by his previous employer, but you missed to collect the 11 declaration in which he would have declared the EPF membership, then you may have to cover him with effect from 1st June, i.e., the actual date of joining, and contribute the past contributions of both the employee and employer now and pay the interest and damages in due course.