EPFO Launches Employees’ Enrolment Scheme 2025 to Expand Social Security Coverage

Ziraat Times News Desk

New Delhi: Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, today launched the Employees’ Enrolment Scheme – 2025 during the 73rd Foundation Day celebrations of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in New Delhi.

The newly launched scheme is a special initiative of the Government of India aimed at promoting voluntary compliance among employers and extending social security benefits to all eligible employees under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.

The Employees’ Enrolment Scheme – 2025 provides a special six-month window — from November 1, 2025, to April 30, 2026 — for employers to voluntarily enrol employees who were left out of EPF coverage between July 1, 2017, and October 31, 2025.

The scheme enables employers to regularize past compliance in a simplified manner while encouraging transparency and universal inclusion under the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) framework.

Under the new scheme, all establishments, whether already covered under EPF or not, can declare eligible employees through the EPFO portal.

Key provisions include:

• The employee’s share of EPF contribution for the declared period will be waived, if not deducted earlier.

• The employer’s liability is limited to paying their own share along with interest under Section 7Q, administrative charges, and a nominal penalty of ₹100 per establishment.

• The ₹100 lump-sum penalty will be considered deemed compliance across all three EPF schemes.

Even establishments currently facing inquiries under Section 7A, Para 26B, or Para 8 of EPS-1995 remain eligible for the scheme, with damages restricted to a notional ₹100. The EPFO has also clarified that no suo-motu compliance actions will be initiated during the scheme’s operation.

Officials said the scheme is expected to facilitate wider EPF coverage, encourage voluntary disclosure by employers, and support the formalization of India’s workforce by offering a simplified route to correct past lapses.

Dr. Mandaviya described the initiative as “a major step toward achieving the goal of Social Security for All,” emphasizing that every worker should be part of the organized social safety network envisioned by the government.

The Employees’ Enrolment Scheme – 2025 aligns with the government’s broader objective of building a transparent, inclusive, and welfare-oriented labour ecosystem that safeguards the interests of employees while promoting ease of doing business for employers.