EPFO urges employers to enrol eligible workers left outside social security net

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Aug 22 urged establishments to use the Employees’ Enrolment Campaign, 2026 (EEC 2026) campaign, to enrol eligible employees who remain outside the EPF coverage.

The EPFO campaign was notified from June 29, 2026, and will remain open up to October 31 this year.

It is aimed at facilitating voluntary compliance by employers and extending the benefits of provident fund, pension and insurance to eligible workers.

It provides a special one-time opportunity to enrol eligible employees who remained outside EPF coverage during the period April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2026.

Eligible employers can declare and enrol employees who were left out of EPF coverage during the prescribed period and are alive and continuing in employment with the establishment on the date of declaration, said Labour Ministry in a statement.

It provides specified relaxations to facilitate regularisation of past compliance, including waiver of the employee’s share where it was not deducted earlier, subject to the conditions of the campaign.

“Employers are required to complete the enrolment and remittance process through the prescribed online mechanism. A Face Authentication-based UAN is to be generated through the UMANG App for each declared employee, and contributions are to be remitted through the Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR),” said the ministry in a statement.

According to the ministry, the campaign is intended to benefit establishments and workers by providing a structured mechanism for bringing eligible employees within the statutory social security framework.

Employers are encouraged to review their employment and wage records and identify eligible employees who may have remained outside EPF coverage during the prescribed period. “Employers are encouraged to make use of this one-time opportunity and complete the enrolment of eligible employees before the Campaign closes on 31 October 2026,” said the ministry.

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