AUTOMATIC TRANSFER OF EPFO ACCOUNTS ON JOB CHANGE!!!

AUTOMATIC TRANSFER OF EPFO ACCOUNTS ON JOB CHANGE - SOONER GOING TO BE ACTIVE

Soon, we will not have to worry about transferring or merging our Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) account on job change. This is because the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has approved the development of centralised IT-enabled systems by C-DAC. This centralised system will facilitate the de-duplication and merger of all PF accounts of members. It will remove the requirement of transfer of EPF account whenever a member changes jobs.

This decision was approved in a meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) held on November 20, 2021.

Currently, as per the EPF rules, once a member changes his/her job, a new EPF account is opened with the new company. The employee is required to transfer the money held in the EPF account with the previous employer to his/her new employer. This can be done online on the Member Sewa portal, provided Universal Account Number (UAN) is linked with Aadhaar. If UAN is not linked with Aadhaar, then the employee will have to do this offline by submitting a form to the new employer.

It is important to transfer one’s EPF account from the previous employer to the new one to ensure that the continuous service period is accurately captured for the purpose of calculation of pension for the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) and for income tax purposes.

Prashant Singh, Vice President and Business Head of CPO- Teamlease services says, “So far employees had been undergoing nightmare to transfer their PF from earlier employer to the new one. Paperwork, timelines and back and forth led to confusion and delay in the entire process. With this new initiative, it would ease the way to transfer the PF from earlier employer to new employer seamlessly. The employee just needs to ensure that his/her UAN is linked to Aadhaar. If not linked a small manual/offline form submission can be given to new employer to establish that. This is another big relief for employee and employer as this is used to consume huge amount of time between both of them to process and transfer...

Please share your suggestion / feedback in the comment section - Vj

New Labour Code Draft: Salary, PF, gratuity, working hours likely to change from October 1, 2021

The draft labour law which is likely to come into effect from 1^st Oct 2021, which comprises the basic pay requirement, change in working hours, etc.,

The four new codes on industrial relations, wages, social security and occupational health safety (OSH), and working conditions will rationalise 44 central labour laws. Union Ministry is set to implement several changes in the rules of labour law from October 1, 2021. 

According to new labour law.. 

1. The working hours of employees are going to be increased from 9 hours to 12 hours (4 working days instead of working for 5 days in a week).

2. Impact on PF, Gratuity, Social security contributions due to the condition of maintaining basic pay as 50% of actual salary as mandatory.

The existing provisions of the new rules will lead to an increase in working hours for employees from nine to 12 hours, while the in-hand salary will also see a change. Under the new wage code, allowances have been capped at 50 per cent, which will lead to half of the monthly pay being calculated as basic wage. Provident fund (PF) contribution is calculated as a percentage of basic wage, which includes basic pay and dearness allowance. Increase in basic pay will result in an increase in the PF contribution, which will reduce the take-home pay for workers. The PF liability for employers will also increase in many cases.

The new code will allow organisations to let their employees work for four days instead of the currently mandated five if employees are working for 12 hours a day. 

The Centre has also proposed a provision for free medical check-ups for workers through the Employees State Insurance Corporation.

- VJ

EPFO - eNominiations - Mandatory for PF Claim / Settlement

A facility for filling of online e-nomination is available at Member Interface of Unified Portal.  It is the important functionality compatible with online composite claim forms to be filed by nominee for any claims or settlements.

Following are the salient features of new e-Nomination functionality :

·        UAN should be activated

·        Verified Aadhaar should be linked with UAN

·        Mobile number of member should be linked with Aadhaar

·        Photo of member should be available in the profile of member (Member has to  upload his photo in his profile section)

·        Aadhaar of all the family members in nomination is mandatory.

·        Photo upload of all the family members in e-Nomination is mandatory

·        Aadhaar based e-Sign by the member in e-Nomination

·        Digitally signed nomination PDF will be available in the login of member and Field Office.

A readily available Nomination in the system enables a member to easily file the online Pension Claim and in the event of demise of the member, his/her nominee will be able to file online claim based on OTP on his/her Aadhaar linked mobile.

Note: Process flow along with screenshots is available in the website www.epfindia.gov.in under Circulars.

 HOW TO CHECK EPF BALANCE AT HOME

Refer below snapshot, which is self-explanatory to obtain PF balance