EPFO: How To Rectify Discrepancies In Employer’s Contributions

Employees' Provident Fund scheme, managed by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), is a reliable retirement savings plan for the private sector workers. The government-backed scheme has been designed to provide financial security to salaried employees in the private sector.

Employees earning a basic salary up to Rs 15,000 per month are mandatorily required to contribute to the Provident Fund (PF). As per the existing EPFO norms, 12% of the basic salary and dearness allowance is contributed by the employee every month. The employer also shares an equal amount, out of which a portion goes towards the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS).

It's advisable for all EPF subscribers to frequently check their provident fund account details to ensure that their contributions are updated every month. This helps to avoid any potential issues regarding claims later.

How To Check If An Employer Has Contributed To The PF Scheme?

The employers are mandated to deposit the EPF amount deducted from the employee's salary every month, as per the EPFO guidelines. The retirement fund regulatory body also sends updates to the EPF subscribers about their total balance every month. The EPFO members can check their balance through the member services portal.

“The Annual PF statement of account/member passbook will indicate the amount paid by the employer. The default period in a year is thus made known to the members. In the current scenario, if the member has activated her/his UAN, the non-payment/payment of contributions can be verified every month through the e-passbook. Currently, members also receive SMS on their registered mobile phones on credit of monthly contribution into their PF account,” EPFO says on its website.

What To Do If There Are Discrepancies In Employer's Contributions?

While EPFO mandates employers to comply with the PF scheme norms, in case of any discrepancies, the organisation has set certain rules and regulations.

The discrepancies in employer contributions to the PF account arise due to defaults and delays. An employer may fail to deposit the amount into the EPF account due to multiple factors like financial crisis, operational disruptions, or a temporary shutdown.  

Employees may face issues related to the PF contributions if their employer contributes less than required or misses the deposits. There may also be issues with incorrect personal and banking details or the contributions not showing in the EPFO passbook.

In such cases, here's what employees can do:

1. Visit the EPFO website and check the details of the account.

2. Check if the employer's contributions are less than or do not match the amount deducted from the salary.

3. If that is the case, EPFO empowers employees to ask for ‘Form 3-A/ECR' from their employer, seeking details of their contributions.

4. If the employer's contributions exist, but are not reflected in the passbook, one can approach their company's HR or EPFO helpdesk seeking a resolution of the issue.

5. If the contribution has been deducted from the salary but not submitted by the employer, one can register a complaint with EPFO.

6. For lodging a complaint, an employees need to submit a copy of the salary slip showing EPF deductions.

7. If the employer does not comply with the EPFO guidelines even after raising the complaint, then legal proceedings can also be initiated.