Dear Sir,
My previous employer is withholding my academic certificates and PF for the past 7 years and demanding money to release them.
My story is as follows: I joined a company in 2002 in Hyderabad. They provided me with training and made me sign a bond, which states I am supposed to serve the company for a period of 2 years after successful completion of training. I surrendered my original academic certificates (SSC and Intermediate) during that time. As per the terms in the bond, I served the company for 2 years, but did not collect my certificates because I was not planning to leave the company. Later in the year 2004, the employer made me sign another bond with a nominal pay hike of Rs. 1500 or 2000/- per month according to which I cannot leave the company for a period of 2 years and in case of breach of contract, I have to pay the company Rs. 30,000/-. After a few months, they started harassing me with all kinds of stuff, making me take up more work, unnecessarily issuing pay cuts, etc. I could not tolerate their harassment and informed the then HR that I could not bear the harassment anymore and wanted to leave, but there was no proper response from him.
In mid-2006, I decided to leave and finally quit the company without submitting a resignation letter and joined another company.
After a year or two, I went to my previous employer and asked them to release my certificates and PF. They demanded money for breach of contract (Rs. 30,000 plus the interest for these years). I was not ready to pay the money because I did not want to pay them for no fault of mine (also, I did not have that money). I tried multiple times and requested them to give my certificates back, but to no avail. I finally stopped going there because I could not afford to go off work for any more days (also, there was no urgent requirement of certificates at that time).
Again, in 2010, I contacted them and asked them to release my certificates as well as PF but they did not do so and were demanding the money along with interest, which I was not ready to pay them because I could not afford to pay them that much.
Now, it has almost been 7 years they are still withholding my certificates and PF, and I want my certificates and PF back now. I have a few queries here:
1. Is the employment bond legally valid?
2. Does an employer have the right to withhold the original certificates and PF of an employee?
3. Is there any way to withdraw my PF without the intervention of the ex-employer?
Kindly advise me on the ways to get my certificates and PF back.
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Raj
From India, Hyderabad
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My previous employer is withholding my academic certificates and PF for the past 7 years and demanding money to release them.
My story is as follows: I joined a company in 2002 in Hyderabad. They provided me with training and made me sign a bond, which states I am supposed to serve the company for a period of 2 years after successful completion of training. I surrendered my original academic certificates (SSC and Intermediate) during that time. As per the terms in the bond, I served the company for 2 years, but did not collect my certificates because I was not planning to leave the company. Later in the year 2004, the employer made me sign another bond with a nominal pay hike of Rs. 1500 or 2000/- per month according to which I cannot leave the company for a period of 2 years and in case of breach of contract, I have to pay the company Rs. 30,000/-. After a few months, they started harassing me with all kinds of stuff, making me take up more work, unnecessarily issuing pay cuts, etc. I could not tolerate their harassment and informed the then HR that I could not bear the harassment anymore and wanted to leave, but there was no proper response from him.
In mid-2006, I decided to leave and finally quit the company without submitting a resignation letter and joined another company.
After a year or two, I went to my previous employer and asked them to release my certificates and PF. They demanded money for breach of contract (Rs. 30,000 plus the interest for these years). I was not ready to pay the money because I did not want to pay them for no fault of mine (also, I did not have that money). I tried multiple times and requested them to give my certificates back, but to no avail. I finally stopped going there because I could not afford to go off work for any more days (also, there was no urgent requirement of certificates at that time).
Again, in 2010, I contacted them and asked them to release my certificates as well as PF but they did not do so and were demanding the money along with interest, which I was not ready to pay them because I could not afford to pay them that much.
Now, it has almost been 7 years they are still withholding my certificates and PF, and I want my certificates and PF back now. I have a few queries here:
1. Is the employment bond legally valid?
2. Does an employer have the right to withhold the original certificates and PF of an employee?
3. Is there any way to withdraw my PF without the intervention of the ex-employer?
Kindly advise me on the ways to get my certificates and PF back.
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Raj
From India, Hyderabad
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Dear Raj,
In my opinion, in reality, they do not want to implement the bond; otherwise, during this period, they must have liquidated the bond or have moved to court for implementing the terms of the bond. The bond was just an instrument to harass the employee.
As far as Original Certificates and PF are concerned, there is an alternative. You can apply and obtain a duplicate copy of certificates from the respective Board/University.
For PF: If you have a PF account with the current employer, then apply for the transfer of PF amounts. Otherwise, apply for withdrawal while getting the form attested by other authorities.
All the best,
V K Gupta
From India, Panipat
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150In my opinion, in reality, they do not want to implement the bond; otherwise, during this period, they must have liquidated the bond or have moved to court for implementing the terms of the bond. The bond was just an instrument to harass the employee.
As far as Original Certificates and PF are concerned, there is an alternative. You can apply and obtain a duplicate copy of certificates from the respective Board/University.
For PF: If you have a PF account with the current employer, then apply for the transfer of PF amounts. Otherwise, apply for withdrawal while getting the form attested by other authorities.
All the best,
V K Gupta
From India, Panipat
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Dear Mr. Raj,
It appears from your posting that you are from Hyderabad. If yes, I can help you out in getting the docs and resolving the other issues. However, as admitted by you, you have left the company without proper documentation. I feel this is your mistake. Anyway, can you provide the details of the company and the location of your office? I think the only way to get your docs and settle the matter is through a proper channel. I will ensure you that this will happen with no cost, and you need not spend your time on it. It is a very clear case. You can contact me at 9010352384 or email your details to sriram15071970@gmail.com.
Regards,
JSR
From India, Hyderabad
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It appears from your posting that you are from Hyderabad. If yes, I can help you out in getting the docs and resolving the other issues. However, as admitted by you, you have left the company without proper documentation. I feel this is your mistake. Anyway, can you provide the details of the company and the location of your office? I think the only way to get your docs and settle the matter is through a proper channel. I will ensure you that this will happen with no cost, and you need not spend your time on it. It is a very clear case. You can contact me at 9010352384 or email your details to sriram15071970@gmail.com.
Regards,
JSR
From India, Hyderabad
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Thank you Mr. Gupta and Mr. Sriram. I really appreciate your most valuable suggestions here. Mr. Sriram, I will contact you with all the details shortly.
From India, Hyderabad
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From India, Hyderabad
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In addition to the valuable suggestions of my dear friends, I would like to point out that regarding your PF Account, you mentioned that 7 years have already passed and you have not applied for withdrawal. Have you transferred it after changing your employer? If not, it may have expired.
From India
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From India
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Dear Pkmbgr,
I would like to inform you that a PF account never expires until the amount is withdrawn. However, the PF department has recently made some amendments to render the account inactive if there have been no transactions for 3 years.
OK...
V K Gupta
From India, Panipat
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I would like to inform you that a PF account never expires until the amount is withdrawn. However, the PF department has recently made some amendments to render the account inactive if there have been no transactions for 3 years.
OK...
V K Gupta
From India, Panipat
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In your case, your first bond was valid when you completed your training. After the completion of that bond period, the company cannot press you to sign another bond for giving an annual increment. If they gave you an annual increment, it is very clear that they were satisfied with your performance. So, no question of another bond.
Anyhow, it happened. Do you have any communication proof when you contacted your previous HR for harassment? Your mistake is that you have delayed the issue for a very long time. Withholding your academic certificate as security was valid only for your first bond. After that, it is a clear case of their malafied intention. Anyhow, you may contact your labor court or a lawyer and file a claim for harassment.
M K Batra
From India, Kharar
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Anyhow, it happened. Do you have any communication proof when you contacted your previous HR for harassment? Your mistake is that you have delayed the issue for a very long time. Withholding your academic certificate as security was valid only for your first bond. After that, it is a clear case of their malafied intention. Anyhow, you may contact your labor court or a lawyer and file a claim for harassment.
M K Batra
From India, Kharar
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Thank you, Mr. Gupta,
May I have an idea about the difference between an Expired Account and an Inactive Account for my personal knowledge? Can someone avail of the PF benefit from an Inactive Account after 3 years? View, please...
From India
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May I have an idea about the difference between an Expired Account and an Inactive Account for my personal knowledge? Can someone avail of the PF benefit from an Inactive Account after 3 years? View, please...
From India
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Dear Mr. Pkmbgr,
Expired is equal to dead. PF accounts having no deposit of contribution for 36 months continuously will become inactive, and after 36 months, no interest will be credited to the account. This does not mean that the working of benefits will be stopped. You may have a video clip on the EPFO website under the heading "Latest News" regarding this. However, the loss of interest in itself is a big loss.
Thanks, V K Gupta
From India, Panipat
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Expired is equal to dead. PF accounts having no deposit of contribution for 36 months continuously will become inactive, and after 36 months, no interest will be credited to the account. This does not mean that the working of benefits will be stopped. You may have a video clip on the EPFO website under the heading "Latest News" regarding this. However, the loss of interest in itself is a big loss.
Thanks, V K Gupta
From India, Panipat
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Dear Mr. Gupta,
Thank you for your information. I have another query in this regard:
1. If an employer submits Form 10 to the PF Office as the details of a departed employee, what will happen? Will the interest calculation on his/her accounts be stopped?
2. If an employer does not submit Form 10 to the PF Office as the details of a departed employee, what will happen? Will it stay in an active position until the submission of the Annual Return? Is this considered an offense?
Please guide.
Thank you.
From India
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Thank you for your information. I have another query in this regard:
1. If an employer submits Form 10 to the PF Office as the details of a departed employee, what will happen? Will the interest calculation on his/her accounts be stopped?
2. If an employer does not submit Form 10 to the PF Office as the details of a departed employee, what will happen? Will it stay in an active position until the submission of the Annual Return? Is this considered an offense?
Please guide.
Thank you.
From India
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Employer-PF-res trict to wages of Rs 6500.pdf