Understanding EPF Withdrawal Rules, PF Eligibility Criteria, and Employer Obligations

Hi All,

Can anyone help me provide clear information about getting PF deducted from my salary? I was working in one company, let's say ABC Co. Ltd., for 4 months. Each month, my salary was deducted by 680 Rupees towards PF. However, now, at the time of my resignation, the company refuses to pay the PF in the Final Settlement. They are saying that I am not eligible for PF!! Is there any rule regarding working for a minimum period to be eligible for PF? Moreover, PF amount has been deducted from my last 4 months' salary! My basic was only 4500/-

Regards, Nithin

Dear Nithin,

You have to work for a minimum of 6 months to be eligible for withdrawal benefits from EPFO (Both EPF & EPS). Since you left within 4 months, you are entitled to receive the EPF amount. You can submit Form 19 for your contribution of 12% + Employer 3.67%.

You will not be eligible for EPS - Pension, so please do not submit Form 10C and you will not receive the Employer 8.33%.

Is your PF deduction amount Rs. 680/- or Rs. 540/-? Since your basic is Rs. 4500, it should only be Rs. 540/- (12%). Have you included any DA or ESI deductions as well?

Thank you.

Dear Shenbagarajan,

Many thanks for your reply. Please note that the Basic was Rs. 5,750 and PF was Rs. 690. I just had a look at Form 19, and it is showing fields for Account No. PN/HR. However, I don't have such a number. Should I ask this number from my previous employer first, right? One more valid question in this regard, if the employer refuses to give me the number, what should I do?

Thanks again for your reply.

Regards, Nithin

Dear Nithin,

You can find your PF number in your payslip. Otherwise, you can ask your previous HR to provide the number.

Actually, they are required to sign the Form 19. In case they refuse to sign, follow the instructions provided by EPFO.

It is the employer's duty under the Act & Scheme to assist the Employees' Provident Fund organization in settling the Provident Fund dues of their employees. They must complete the prescribed application within 5 days of receipt [para72(5)] forms and hand it over to the member upon their departure from service. If a member faces difficulty in getting the form attested by the employer, they can seek attestation from any of the following officers and send it to the Provident Fund office:

- Manager of a bank.
- Any gazetted officer.
- Member of the Central Board of Trustees/Committee/Regional Committee (Employees' Provident Fund Organization).
- Magistrate/Post/Sub Post Master/President of Village Panchayat/Notary Public.

However, only proceed with the above attestation if the previous employer refuses to sign the form.

Also, I hope you do not have any outstanding dues with your previous employers.

If he didn't have any PF number given, how will he get it attested by someone? I'm assuming that if the employer refused PF, he will refuse to give the account number.

Dear Saswata,

If he is not getting his number, he can write to the concerned PF office where the company is maintaining the PF account. However, this will be taken seriously, and an inquiry will be conducted by the Enforcement Officer with the employer.

If any dues are to be paid by the employee, then the company will surely proceed with legal action; otherwise, there is no problem. It is advisable to try solving the problem internally.

Yes, I understand what you are saying. You have also answered my question regarding what options he has if the company does not provide the PF number. I suppose the department will have a copy of the 12A and 3A where his name will appear. If his name does not appear, then the PF Officer will definitely issue a notice to the company asking to explain why they have not paid PF for him. I do not think it is legally allowed for the company to hold back PF for other dues. I believe there is a specific rule somewhere stating this. However, do you think the department will take the trouble to follow this through on the request of the employee for such a small amount?

Dear Sir,

In the above case, it is informed that 8.33% of EPS would not be availed by the employee, but the employer has already submitted their contribution. Who will be the beneficiary of this contribution, or how can the employer take back this amount?

Please inform.

Thanking you.

Hi Shenbagarajan,

Thank you for your clear and professional reply on this. I have already cleared the settlement with the company and signed the Final Settlement Form. Regarding PF, I will contact HR and try to resolve this matter internally.

@rameshr338

Yes, I have the same concern. In my company, Paid Leave is granted based on the working days of the last financial year. One of my colleagues is currently in the notice period, and HR deducted Paid Leave from the notice period days. For example, if he has 15 days of Paid Leave and the notice period is 30 days, he needs to work for 15 days only. However, the company refuses to pay him for the deducted days (i.e., 15 days). Is this legal?

Dear Friends,

Help me, recently I joined a company and came to know that our contractor is manipulating to deposit PF amount, and in the past, he has withdrawn the PF amount by opening dummy accounts. Workers have lost faith. Now we don't want to change the worker and cannot change the contractor. Please help me to sort the issue.

Regards,
Prakash

Why can't you change the contractor? You can appoint a new contractor and ask all contract workers to join them. Please remember that you, as the principal employer, are responsible for any shortfall in payment or non-payment of PF. Take a copy of his PF challans and check his 12a, 6a, and 3a forms at regular intervals to ensure he is paying properly and in the name of the correct persons.

Dear Nithin/Ramesh,

If he works for 15 days and quits the organization, asking to adjust the leave, it cannot be done. Since his last date will be the 15th day of a 30-day month, and after that, he is removed from the organization's roster, he is not eligible for the adjustment. 15 days of leave and 15 days of notice period recovery will be adjusted, and he will be paid for only 15 days.

Hope this clarifies the situation.

Thank you.

Dear Ramesh,

The notice period is intended for the period during which the new candidate can be selected, and work of the leaving employee can be handed over with some training from the leaving employee to the new joiner to complete the assignments at hand. If the leaving employee takes leaves, the purpose of the notice period is not fulfilled, so management may not allow it. If management approves the leaves properly applied for by the leaving employee, he is eligible to receive salary; otherwise, he is eligible only for earned leave encashment.

Sunil

Dear Mr. Nitin,

You can apply for a transfer of your PF fund to your new PF account with your current employer. For this, you have to fill out Form 13 and submit it to the PF department through your current employer. The rest will be taken care of by the PF department.

Regards,
Vijay Kumar
Silvassa

Dear Sameer,

Please find the same reply in the trial. You can find your PF number in your payslip, or you can ask your previous HR to provide the number.

Actually, they have to sign the Form 19. In case they are not signing, follow the instructions given by EPFO.

It is the duty of the employer under the Act and Scheme to assist the Employees' Provident Fund organization in settling the Provident Fund dues of their employees. They must complete the prescribed application within 5 days of receipt (para 72(5)) forms and hand it over to the member when they leave the service. If a member faces difficulties in getting the form attested by the employer, they can seek attestation from any of the following officers and send it to the Provident Fund office:

- Manager of a bank
- Any gazetted officer
- Member of the Central Board of Trustees/ Committee/ Regional Committee (Employees' Provident Fund Organization)
- Magistrate/ Postmaster/ Sub Postmaster/ President of Village Panchayat/ Notary Public

Only when the previous employer is not signing the form can you proceed with the above attestation.

Also, I hope you do not have any dues with your previous employer.

Dear Nitin,

The PF contribution which was deducted will not be returned as you have not worked for the same company for at least 6 months.

Regards,
Rajitha

You mean that the money will be appropriated by the government? I don't think that was the spirit of the legislation. How can money deducted from salary for social benefits be appropriated??

Dear Rajitha,

But as per the info provided by Shenbagarajan, employees can avail their contribution + employer contribution at 3.67%. You mean employees cannot benefit from this?

You have to work for a minimum of 6 months to qualify for withdrawal benefits from EPFO (Both EPF & EPS). Since you left within 4 months, you are eligible to receive the EPF amount. You can submit Form 19 (your 12% + employer 3.67%). You will not be eligible for EPS - Pension (do not submit Form 10C) and you will not receive the employer's 8.33%.

Thank you.

Dear @Rajitha,

It should be given to the employees even if it is less than 6 months based on the calculation done by me in the trial. Please look for it.

@Saswatha - It is not deducted from your salary; it is deducted from your employer. After retirement, it is not the employer who is going to pay your PF pension (private company). It is the PF department that is going to pay the pension benefit. If you feel that it should not be taken by the PF department, then the PF has to be transferred to the new employer where you will not lose the money. Don't focus on the 1% who lose their money (Employer contribution PF - 8.33% of 12%). There are 99% of employees who benefit.

Thank you.

Dear Sh. Shenbagarajan,

I have posted an enquiry earlier. If the employee has not worked for less than 6 months, he will be paid back only the employee's portion of the PF deducted. But if the employer already remitted their contribution, how does the employer get back the same amount? Who will be the real beneficiary of that component?

Thanking you,
(M. Ramasubramanian)

Dear Ramasubramanian,

It is taken by the EPFO only. Already, I had replied to @Saswatha - It is not deducted from your salary, it is deducted from your employer. After retirement, it is not the employer who is going to pay your PF pension (private company). It is the PF department that is going to pay the pension benefit. If you feel that it should not be taken by the PF department, then the PF has to be transferred to the new employer where you will not lose the money. Don't look for 1% who lose their money (Employer contribution PF - 8.33% of 12%). There are 99% of employees who get benefited.

I was an employee of a company. My basic salary was only 4000 Rs, and the total was 5300 Rs. For PF, 456 Rs was deducted from my gross (6021 Rs).

I worked there for 4 months, and I don't have the payslip, so I don't know the PF number. Am I eligible to get the PF?

Please forward a request under RTI to the concerned EPFO where your employer's office is located. Nobody can withhold your PF even if you have worked for just one day.

Dear Sir,

I would like to discuss my problem. I was working in a foundation from 8th September 2014 to 10th March 2015, approximately 6 months and 2 days. I was given a notice period of 10 days, while their norms required a notice period of 15 days. Consequently, they deducted my salary for 6-7 days.

Currently, I am requesting clearance of my PF (the PF amount was 480/month) from the time of my resignation, but there has been no progress so far. Despite sending numerous emails and reminders to HR, Accounts, and Administration, there has been no satisfactory response.

Please assist me with the best legal or diplomatic solution.

Regards,

Satyajeet Singh

Hello sir, I am working as a stenographer under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on a contract basis. Every month, Rs. 1245 is deducted from my salary, and my current PF balance is Rs. 30,168. Now, I have some queries about this which are mentioned below:

1. I want to know what is the minimum time to withdraw my PF amount after relieving the job.
2. How much interest do I get on Rs. 30,168/- and the total amount I get from my PF amount?
3. Is a PAN Card mandatory to withdraw this money?
4. Do I need to fill out any forms to withdraw this PF amount?

And if the working months are less than 1 year and more than 6 months, does he/she will get the benefit of both EPF and EPS??

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And if the working months are less than 1 year and more than 6 months, will he/she receive the benefits of both EPF and EPS?

Dear sir,

I am newly joined in the company for HR. I have one information, please. How to create a new EPF code for an employee (online)? Please help me.

Regards,
Mohan
8144488870

I am working at X company. I have been working there for 3 months. Now, I want to leave the company due to some reasons. However, when I asked for my PF account number, they informed me that I have to work a minimum of 6 months to be eligible for a PF number. Is this true? Please help me.

Thank you,
Chinni