“A socially responsible establishment’s contribution towards the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) is a social security not just for the employees but for their entire family,” said S. Azhahiya Manavalan, Regional PF Commissioner II, Regional Office, Madurai.
Speaking at the 2nd Executive Committee of Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Tuesday, Mr. Manavalan, said, even if the employees could not understand the benefits of EPF, the employer should bear the responsibility to demystify the doubts.
For those employers who think of spending on employees’ EPF as a waste of money or incurring an additional cost, he said they should realise the return benefits the establishment would enjoy if they were to spend on the social security of their employees.
“To achieve the overall benefits, the Union government has over the years built and simplified the entire process for the betterment of both the employees and employers,” he added.
By shifting the entire documentation procedure into a systematic online accessible, the burden of going through the cumbersome process has been taken off the shoulders of owners and human resources management, he said.
As once the company staff had to make several visits to the EPF office every month to ensure compliance with the government’s rules and regulations, now the submission has been made just a click away from the user, Mr. Manalavan noted.
Still, only less than 10% of the working class in the organised sectors has been brought under the ambit of EPF; the remaining 90% of the working-class population was scattered and unorganised, he pointed out.
“Though foreign countries impose stringent rules on the employers for extending such benefits to the employees, our country, in the aim of making the situation better, is being lenient towards the establishments,” he stated.
Schemes like Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PMVBRY) aimed at providing financial incentives to both employees and employers for creating new jobs could be utilised by the business people to receive the benefits of the scheme, he said.
N. Jegatheesan, president, Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, proposed a vote of thanks and appealed to the members of the forum to utilise such schemes and programmes of the Union government to improve the livelihood of their employees.