UAN Helpdesk

UAN helpdesk is an online contact centre available on the EPFO’s website to help employees and employers with EPF related services. The contact number for UAN helpdesk is 1800 118 005. Employers and employees can contact the UAN helpdesk during business hours for support with EPF matters.

SMS Format

The EPFO launched an SMS service for the interest of its EPF members. An individual who has activated UAN could utilize this SMS service to view information of his PF account. The SMS format is EPFOHO<UAN>LAN. The number to which this particular SM format needs to be sent is 7738299899. LAN in the SMS format denotes language to be used. This facility is available in 10 various major Indian languages inclusive of English and Hindi. In addition to this, a mobile application is available in the Android version, this could be downloaded and the EPF members could access the PF related information.

Inoperative Account Helpdesk

In order to track inoperative PF accounts, the concerned individual can contact the UAN helpdesk for inoperative accounts. Under PF regulations, an inoperative account is defined as: "Any amount becoming due to a member as a result of

(i) supplementary contribution from the employer in respect of leave wages/arrears of pay, instalment of arrear contribution received in respect of a member whose claim has been settled on account but which could not be remitted for want of latest address, or
(ii) accumulation in respect of any member who has either ceased to be employed or died [but no application for withdrawal under paragraphs 69 or 70 or transfer, as the case may be has been preferred] within a period of [thirty six months] from the date it becomes payable, or if any amount remitted to a person, is received back undelivered, and is not claimed again within a period of [thirty six months] from the date it becomes payable, shall be transferred to an account to be called the “Inoperative Account”.

EPF Complaints Status

EPF Complaints Status could be tracked online; an employee could use this registration number to track the status of his/her complaint. The EPFO department official verifies the complaint. Once it is verified, the case is then forwarded to the concerned person or department for resolution. The turnaround time for the resolution of the complaint might take up to 15-30 days. A reminder of the request could be sent by mentioning the registration number. An EPF member could approach EPFO for any clarifications or grievance settlements via Facebook and Twitter. The Facebook page and Twitter handle are accessible at the following links:

EPFiGMS

EPFiGMS is an internet-based grievance redressal system utilized by EPFO. This portal allows anyone to register his or her grievance in the system 24×7. Once the grievance is registered, a unique number would be allotted to the petitioner. This unique number helps him to keep a track of the status of the grievance redressal. Every grievance addressed would be kept under the strict surveillance of the EPFiGMS system on a daily basis at all levels of manual supervision.

CPGRAMS

Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) is a Central Government initiative that also permits and monitors the grievance addressed by an individual. A PF member can also register his or her grievance on the CPGRAMS portal. In this article, we shall look at the grievance redressal methods.

Nature and Source of Grievance

Grievances are usually raised by employers or employees directly. In addition to the grievances portals, In certain cases, escalations could be received from the office of Hon’ble Prime Minister, Hon’ble Minister of Labour & Employment, Cabinet Secretariat, MPs, MLAs, other VIPs and Department of Personnel and Grievances (DPG). In this paragraph, let’s examine the source or the issue that arise grievances among the employees or employers:

Settlement of PF/Pension/Insurance Claims
Transfer of PF accounts.
Non-enrolment of employees
The difficulty arising out of old PF accounts on the CPGRAMS portal.
Difficulties relating to Universal Accounts Number (UAN)

Registration of Grievance

Grievances received from any source or via any mode could be via e-mail or post or reference from any source could register the complaint from the office in EPFiGMS (Employees Provident Fund Internet Grievance Management System). Step: 1 – Visit Employees Provident Fund Internet Grievance Management System The applicant must first visit http://epfigms.gov.in/ and Click on the Register Grievance to register EPF complaints. To lodge the complaint the applicant must have your EPF UAN number. Step: 2 - EPF grievance webpage On the EPF grievance webpage, the applicant could enter the EPF details such as EPF number, EPFO office, Establishment code, account number, extension code etc; Step: 3 – Complaint Registration Form In this section the applicant could enter the following information:

Enter the name and address of the complainant.
Enter the Pin code, Country, and select the state.
Fill in Phone number; however, this is not compulsory.
Fill in Mobile number, however, this is not compulsory, it is recommended to be filled in.
Fill in your email id, however, this is not compulsory, it is recommended to be filled in.

Step: 4 - Grievance category The applicant must then select the Grievance category under which the complaint is to be categorized. Then the applicant must enter the Grievance description. Step: 5 – Supporting Documents Post the above steps, the applicant must upload the Supporting documents in PDF format to clarify the complaint. They could upload the documents in the Upload File option -> click on browse, the individual could select the PDF file stored in a computer location-> and then click on Attach. Step: 6 – Submission & Registration Number The applicant must then enter the Captcha or the pattern in the image below and then click on the submit button. Once the complaint is filed, the complainant would receive a unique registration number. These details would also be emailed to your registered email id.

Monitoring of Grievances

Grievance redressal is an important section of the EPFO. It is monitored with due diligence and the timelines are strictly followed. EPFO has ensured that qualitative improvements in grievance redressal would be taken care and its monitoring is carried out on a continuous basis. Most the next and pending grievances are escalated to higher levels based on the period of pendency.