EPFO rolls out Employees’ Enrolment Campaign, 2025 to expand social security coverage

In a move aimed at fast-tracking formal job creation in the country and extending social security coverage under the employment linked incentive schemes, the ministry of labour and employment will run an Employees’ Enrolment Campaign, 2025’(EEC 2025) from November 1, 2025, to April 30, 2026.

Under the scheme, employers can enroll all existing employees, who joined the establishment between July 1, 2017, and October 31, 2025, and who are alive and employed on the date of the declaration, but were not enrolled in the EPF scheme earlier due to any reason, whatsoever, the ministry said in a notification.

All the employers who get registered under the EEC, 2025 or declare additional employees under the EEC, 2025 shall be eligible to avail the benefits of Pradhan Mantri-Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana, subject to certain terms and conditions under that scheme.
“This campaign is intended to encourage employers, both already registered and those newly coming under the purview of the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, to voluntarily declare and enroll eligible employees,” it added.

A similar enrolment campaign was successfully conducted by the ministry in 2017 for enrolment of left-out eligible employees from 2009 to 2016.

As per the notification, the employee’s share of provident fund contribution for the past period (from July 1, 2017, to October 31, 2025) shall stand waived, provided it was not deducted from the employee’s wages. The employer is only required to pay their own share for such a period.“Employers availing this scheme shall be liable to pay a nominal penal damage of Rs 100 only as a lump sum, a significant reduction from the standard penalties for non-compliance,” it said.“No suomoto compliance action shall be initiated by the EPFO against the employers who avail the benefits of EEC, in respect of such employees who have already left the establishment as on the date of declaration,” it said.

The Employer are required to make the declaration through an online facility provided by EPFO, where employer shall indicate the details of the employees enrolled and link it to the Electronic Challan-cum-Return (Temporary Return Reference Number) through which, payment of contributions has been made and pay lump-sum Penal Damages of one hundred rupees.

The government expects this campaign to boost enrolment under the social security cover for employees, and shall also be crucial for employers to regularize their past records with minimal financial or legal burden and shall facilitate ease of doing business.