EPF for Employers: PF Contribution, UAN & Registration
The Employees’ Provident Fund is mandatory once you employ 20 or more people. Both the employee and the employer contribute 12% of basic pay plus dearness allowance, on wages up to a ₹15,000 ceiling. Of the employer’s 12%, 8.33% (capped at ₹1,250 a month) funds the EPS pension and 3.67% goes to the PF account — on top of a 0.50% EDLI charge and a 0.50% admin charge.
General guidance, not legal or tax advice
The short answer
PF is a 12% + 12% contribution on wages up to ₹15,000, from 20 employees onward.
Once an establishment reaches 20 employees, EPF registration is compulsory. The employee and employer each put in 12% of basic + DA, and the employer’s share splits into an 8.33% EPS pension slice (max ₹1,250) and a 3.67% PF slice, plus small EDLI and admin charges. Every member is issued a UAN, and you file the monthly ECR. This sits inside the wider payroll stack covered in the PF, ESI, PT & gratuity guide.
How the EPF contribution splits
The headline is “12% and 12%”, but the employer’s half is divided across the pension scheme, the provident fund and two small charges. Here is where each rupee goes when you run payroll on basic plus dearness allowance.
Indicative figures for general guidance only. Rates and the wage ceiling are set by the EPFO and revised periodically — confirm the current position before running payroll.
A worked example at the ₹15,000 ceiling
Take an employee whose basic plus DA is ₹15,000 a month — the mandatory ceiling. Here is what lands in each account, and what the contribution costs the employer.
Employee EPF (12%)
Employer EPS (8.33%)
Employer EPF (3.67%)
Employer EDLI + admin
The employee’s ₹1,800 and the employer’s ₹1,800 both grow tax-free in the PF, while the ₹150 of EDLI and admin is a pure employer cost. Total monthly employer outgo for this member is about ₹1,950 on top of salary. Above ₹15,000 basic, the mandatory contribution stays pegged to the ceiling unless you choose to contribute on the full wage.
Registration, UAN and the monthly rhythm
EPF becomes compulsory the moment you employ 20 or more people. You register the establishment once on the EPFO Unified Portal, receive an establishment code, and from then on the obligation runs on a monthly cadence rather than as a one-off task. Coverage continues even if your headcount later falls below 20.
For each member you generate and activate a Universal Account Number (UAN), link Aadhaar, PAN and bank details, deduct the employee’s 12% from salary, and deposit both shares by the 15th of the following month. You then file the Electronic Challan cum Return (ECR) — every month, even a nil one. Late deposits attract interest and damages, so the monthly rhythm matters more than any single form.
The employer’s EPF checklist
Five recurring actions keep an establishment on the right side of the EPFO. Treat them as routine and PF compliance stays quiet in the background.
- 1
Register the establishment once you reach 20
EPF registration is compulsory once you employ 20 or more people, and it is one-time per establishment. Enrol on the EPFO Unified Portal and obtain your establishment code.
- 2
Generate a UAN for every member
Each EPF member gets a Universal Account Number that follows them across employers. Generate the UAN for new joiners, link Aadhaar, PAN and bank details, and activate it so members can track their balance.
- 3
Deduct and deposit by the due date
Deduct the employee’s 12% from salary, add the employer share, and deposit both by the 15th of the following month. Late deposits attract interest under Section 7Q and damages under Section 14B.
- 4
File the monthly ECR
File the Electronic Challan cum Return (ECR) every month — even in a month with no joiners or exits — so the establishment stays compliant and members’ passbooks update.
- 5
Process transfers and exits cleanly
On exit, mark the date of leaving and reason so members can withdraw or transfer their balance. A tidy exit record prevents blocked claims and grievance tickets later.
The one-line version
EPF secures retirement. It does nothing for a hospital bill — that gap is what group health cover fills.
Where PF ends and health cover begins
EPF is a savings scheme: it builds a retirement corpus and, through EDLI, pays a capped lump sum if a member dies in service. What it never does is cover a hospitalisation. An employee mid-treatment cannot draw on their PF to settle a bill, and the ₹7,00,000 EDLI cap rarely replaces a breadwinner’s income — the mechanics are in EDLI vs Group Term Life.
That is exactly the gap a group health insurance plan closes. Where EPF is a statutory floor, group cover gives every employee — regardless of wage — cashless treatment at network hospitals, plus OPD and wellness, on a monthly subscription you flex as the team changes. See how the whole payroll stack fits together in the PF, ESI, PT & gratuity guide and the full employer compliance pillar.
Frequently asked questions
EPF applies once your establishment employs 20 or more people, counting permanent, part-time, contract and probationary staff. Registration on the EPFO portal is compulsory from that point, and once you are covered the obligation continues even if headcount later dips below 20. Smaller establishments can also opt in voluntarily with employee consent.
Both contribute 12% of basic pay plus dearness allowance. The employee’s full 12% goes to the provident fund. The employer’s 12% is split: 8.33% (capped at ₹1,250 a month) funds the EPS pension and 3.67% goes to the PF account. On top, the employer pays 0.50% for EDLI life cover and a 0.50% admin charge, minimum ₹75.
EPF contributions are mandatory on basic plus DA up to ₹15,000 a month. If an employee earns more, the employer is only legally required to contribute on ₹15,000, though many voluntarily contribute on the full salary. The ₹15,000 ceiling also caps the EPS pension share at ₹1,250 a month.
The Universal Account Number is a permanent 12-digit ID the EPFO issues to every member. It links all of an employee’s PF accounts across jobs into one, so the balance is portable. As an employer you generate and activate the UAN for new joiners and link their Aadhaar, PAN and bank details before filing contributions.
No. EPF is a retirement-savings scheme, not health cover. Its linked EDLI life benefit is capped at ₹7,00,000 and pays only on death in service. It does nothing for a hospitalisation bill. Group health insurance sits alongside EPF to give every employee real cashless medical cover, regardless of wage.
Beyond the statutory minimum, give your team real cover
EPF looks after retirement. Onsurity looks after the hospital bill — cashless cover at 10,000+ network hospitals for every employee, on a monthly subscription. Get a group health quote and see the per-employee cost.
Get a group health quote