Provident Fund Withdrawal
A provident fund is sort of a mandatory savings for all employees including part timers and the employees who have been employed by the contractors. The Indian government has made it mandatory and has also somehow planned of a period within which it cannot be touched or withdrawn. What I mean here is unlike a savings account from where money can be taken out at will, PF accounts hold in the money for the period of at least five years. Or for the time period a person is working in the organization.
As a statute, both the employer and employee contributions are deposited and by law no matter under what circumstances the employee quits the organization or if is terminated, he or she still stays entitled to the till date savings in the PF account. No employer may even do any deductions from the payable PF towards any dues or otherwise from the PF amount payable to the employee. In other words it has been kept as one secured savings for the benefit of the employee.
It’s the employer’s duty to help the PF office settle the dues of the contributor. The employer has to send the completed and stamped form to the PF office with in 5 days of discontinuing the job. In case the employee finds any difficulty in getting the attestation done by the employer then he can get the same done from a Manager of a bank, By a gazetted officer, CBT member, or by a Magistrate, Post Master, Notary Public, or by the President of the village panchayat.
The PF office would send a cheque in the name of the contributor, or would arrange to transfer the funds to the account of the contributor. Under the situation in which the contributor has switched organization the contributor may choose to have the funds transferred to the new organization.