EMPLOYEES’ PROVIDENT FUND SCHEME, 1952 (EPF)

Employees Provident Fund Scheme (EPFS) is a long-term retirement saving scheme managed by the Employees provident fund organization (EPFO) and it is covered under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. Under EPF Scheme, an employee and employer have to pay a certain percentage of equal contribution in the provident fund account, and on retirement, an employee gets a lump sum amount of contribution made by employer and employee with interest on both.

EMPLOYEES’ PENSION SCHEME, 1995 (EPS) The scheme is provided by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) and ensures that employees receive a pension once they attain the age of 58 years old. Existing, as well as new EPF members, can avail the benefits of the scheme. The employee and employer each contribute 12% of the employee’s basic salary and Dearness Allowance (DA) towards EPF. While the entire share of the employee is contributed towards EPF, 8.33% of the employer’s share goes towards EPS. The scheme acts as a regular source of income after the employee retires.

EMPLOYEES’ DEPOSIT LINKED INSURANCE SCHEME, 1976 (EDLI) Employees Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme or EDLI is an insurance cover provided by the EPFO (Employees Provident Fund Organization) for private sector salaried employees. The registered nominee receives a lump-sum payment in the event of the death of the person insured, during the period of the service.

OBJECTIVES

• To provide social security, financial security and stability
• To help employees save a fraction of their salary every month
• To provide retirement or old age benefits, such as Provident fund, Superannuation Pension etc.
• To provides for payment of terminal benefits on the happening of various contingencies such as retirement, closure of business etc.

BENEFITS OF EPF

• Capital Appreciation
• Corpus for Retirement
• Emergency Corpus
• Tax Saving
• Easy Premature withdrawal

TYPES OF PROVIDENT FUND

1. PF (Provident Fund) EPF (Employees Provident Fund)
2. GPF (General Provident Fund)
3. PPF (Public Provident Fund)
4. VPF (Voluntary Provident Fund)
5. RPF (Recognised Provident Fund)
6. UPF (Unrecognised Provident Fund)

ELIGIBILITY FOR REGISTRATION

EPF REGISTRATION IS MANDATORY FOR ALL ESTABLISHMENTS-

• Which is a factory engaged in any industry having 20 or more persons.

• To any other establishment employing 20 or more persons or class of such establishments which the Central Government may, by notification specify on this behalf.

• The employer must obtain the registration within one month of attaining the strength.

• Registration remains continue even if the employee strength falls below the required minimum.

• Central Government may apply the provisions to any establishment employing less than 20 employees after giving not less than two months’ notice for compulsory registration. IMPORTATANT DEFINITIONS EMPLOYEE

•Section 2 (f): “Employee" means any person who is employed for wages in any kind of work, manual or otherwise, in or in connection with the work of [an establishment], and who gets his wages directly or indirectly from the employer, [and includes any person

• (i) employed by or through a contractor in or in connection with the work of the establishment;

• (ii) engaged as an apprentice, not being an apprentice engaged under the Apprentices Act, 1961, or under the standing orders of the establishment] BASIC WAGES

• Section 2(b) read with section 6 of the Provident Fund Act provides that contributions are required to be paid on:

basic wages

dearness allowance (including cash value of any food concession)

retaining allowance.

RATES OF CONTRIBUTION

BY	CONTRIBUTION ACCOUNTS	ADMINISTRATION ACCOUNTS

 

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR REGISTRATION

• PAN Card of Proprietor/ Partnership Firm/Company/LLP
• KYC details of Proprietor/Partners/Directors (PAN Card, Aadhar Card)
• Contact Details (Mobile No. and Email ID)
• Nature of Establishment
• Proof of Establishment (Certificate of Incorporation/GST Certificate/Any other document issued by Government Authority)
• Address Proof of Establishment
• Digital Signature of the Proprietor/Partner/Director

THE EMPLOYEES’ STATE INSURANCE ACT, 1948 GOVERNED BY –

EMPLOYEE STATE INSURANCE ACT, 1948 MANAGED BY – EMPLOYEE STATE INSURANCE CORPORATION

EMPLOYEE STATE INSURANCE

• Salaried Employees
• Managed & Governed by Government
• Combination of Family Health, Accidental and Employment Insurance

INSURED PERSON (IP)

• 10 digit IP number
• IP Card (Can add dependent family members)

APPLICABILITY

A. ESIC is applicable in implemented areas

Fully Implemented (12)

Partially Implemented (22)

Non Implemented (2)

B. ESIC is Applicable on all factories and notified establishment employing 10 or more employees.

C. The employee wage limit for coverage under the Act is Rs. 21,000/- per month (Rs. 25,000/- per month in the case of persons with disability)

CALCULATION

ESI (4%) EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTION 0.75% OF ESI WAGES EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION 3.25% OF ESI WAGES WAGES The be term “wages” has been defined u/s 2(22) of the ESIC Act in three parts as under:- 1. All remuneration paid or payable in cash to an employee, if the terms of the contract of employment, express or implied, were fulfilled. 2. and includes any payment to an employee in respect of any period of authorized leave, lock-out, strike which is not illegal or lay of. 3. and other additional remuneration, if any paid at intervals not exceeding 2 months. Wages not include:- a. any contribution paid by the employer to any pension fund or provident fund or under ESI Act, b. any traveling allowance or the value of any traveling concession, c. any sum paid to the person employed to defray the special expenses entitled to him by the nature of his employment or d. any gratuity payable on discharge. WAGES INCLUDES: a) Suspension Allowance/Subsistence Allowance is wages b) Overtime allowance is wages for payment of contribution only but not for determination of employee’ u/s 2(9) of the Act. c) Inam is wages when it is paid for special skill or higher responsibilities or where the employer has no right to withdraw or revise it d) 'Lay Off' pay is wages. e) House Rent Allowance is wages. f) Night Shift/Heat/Gas/Dust Allowance is wages. g) ‘Conveyance Allowance’is wages which arises out of contract of employment CALCULATION OF ESI DEDUCTION BY ESI WAGES CONTRIBUTION EMPLOYEE 10,000 75 (10,000 * 0.75%) EMPLOYER 10,000 325 (10,000 * 3.25%) BENEFITS A. • Sickness Benefit (Cover consultation, medicine, treatment, and operation cost not only for IPs but dependent family members as well) • ESIC pays salary for leaves B. • Disablement benefits Pension to the IP in case of temporary or permanent disablement caused due to work related accident; this also include travelling to and from the work place C. Death Benefit • Widow and children get lifetime pension D. Unemployment benefit • Upto 6 months of unemployment allowance (Atal bimit Vyakti Kalian Yojana) E. • Maternity Benefits • Funeral Expenses • Free Health Checkup REGISTRATION PROCESS WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR AN EMPLOYER TO REGISTER FOR EPF OR ESI? • Risk coverage: The Provident Fund’s most fundamental benefit is to cover the risks that employees and their dependents may face as a result of retirement, illness, or death. • Uniform account: One of the most important aspects of the Provident Fund account is that it is consistent and transferable. It is transferable to any other place of employment. • Employee Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLIS): This scheme is available to all PF account holders. According to it, the life insurance premium is deducted at the rate of 0.5 per cent of the salary. • Long-term goals: Many long-term goals, such as marriage or higher education, necessitate the immediate availability of funds. During such times, the accumulated PF amount is frequently useful. • Emergency needs: Certain unanticipated events, such as marriage or other family gatherings, as well as any mishap or illness, necessitate immediate financial assistance. The PF amount can be extremely beneficial. • Pension coverage: Aside from the employee’s 12% contribution to EPF, the employer contributes an equal amount, which includes 8.33% to the Employee Pension Scheme (EPS). EPF & ESI REGISTRATION PROCEDURE ONLINE The employer must register the establishment online. With the convenience of online registration the employer can register the establishment by providing the following details: • Establishment details • The establishment details to be provided are the Name of the establishment, Address, Incorporation Date, PAN and Type of establishment. • If the establishment is a factory then the details to be provided are the Factory License Number, Date of License and Place of issue of License. • If the establishment is an MSME then MSME registration details to be provided. • If the establishment is registered under Startup India, then the Startup India registration details are to be provided. eContacts The employer must provide the email ID and mobile number of the authorised person. Contact Person Employers must provide details of the contact person like a manager. The details required are name, date of birth, gender PAN, designation date of joining and address details. Identifiers • The identifiers are the license information that the employer needs to provide. Employment details • The employment details required to be provided are the Employee strength, Gender, Type of activities, Wages above limit and Total wages. Branch/Division • Branch details such as name/premise number, LIN (Labour Identification Number) and address. Activities • The employer needs to enter the NIC Code (National Industrial Classification) and select the nature of business and the activities included from the drop down lists available. STEPS FOR EPF REGISTRATION FOR EMPLOYERS Step 1: Visit the EPFO Website Visit the website (https://www.epfindia.gov.in) and click on the “Establishment Registration” button on the homepage. Step 2: Register On USSP • The “Establishment Registration” button on the homepage of the EPFO website will open the USSP (Unified Shram Suvidha Portal) sign up page. The employer needs to click the “Sign Up” button. • On the next page, the employer has to provide the Name, Email, Mobile Number, and Verification Code and click the ‘Sign Up’ button to create the account. Step 3: Fill Registration Form After the creation of the account on the UUSP, the employer needs to login to the USSP and select the “Registration For EPFO-ESIC” button present on the left-hand side of the screen. Next, select the “Apply for New Registration” button on the right side of the screen. Two options will appear, i.e. “Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948” and “Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act, 1952”. The employer will need to select the “Required option/options” and click on the “Submit” button. Upon clicking the “Submit” button the “Registration Form for EPFO” page will open and the employer needs to fill in the Establishment Details, eContacts, Contact Persons, Identifiers, Employment Details, Branch/Division and Activities. Step 4: Attach DSC • After filling all the “Registration Form for EPFO” and attaching the relevant documents, the employer’s Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) is to be uploaded and attached to the form. Once, the DSC of the employer is uploaded, the employer will receive a successful completion of registration form message and an email from Unified Shram Suvidha Platform with a confirmation that the