What you get
Support for First-Time Employees: | - First-time employees joining an establishment covered under EPFO with a gross wage upto ₹1,00,000/- per month. | - Benefit equivalent to one month wages limited to a maximum of ₹15000/- paid in two installments. | - First installment is paid to the Aadhaar seeded bank account of the employee directly on completion of 6 months of service. | - After 12 months of service, the second installment is transferred to a savings scheme to be paid to the member at a later date. | The incentive shall be disbursed within 45 days after fulfilling the eligibility condition and filing of paid ECR as per the periodicity defined under the scheme, through through (Aadhaar Bridge Payment System) Direct Benefit Transfer to their Aadhaar seeded bank accounts.
Who can apply
Required Paperwork
- Aadhaar Card
- PAN Card
- Income Certificate
- Residence Proof (Domicile)
Common Questions
What is the "Part A- Support for First-Time Employees" scheme component?
Part A – First Timer Scheme component provides an incentive to assist first-timer employees in navigating their learning curve before they become fully productive with completing their financial literacy course over EPO portal.
What is UAN?
Aadhaar authenticated unique account number allotted to an Employee by Employees’ Provident Fund Organization.
What is “Electronic Challan cum Return (ECR)”?
Online monthly submission of contributions by employers.
Who is First Timer?
Any employee, | - with date of joining in an establishment between 01.08.2025 and 31.07.2027 (both dates inclusive) and | - who was not a contributing member of Employees Provident Fund either with EPFO or Exempted Trust prior to 01.08.2025 and | - their Contribution is received in EPFO or exempted trust for the first time for the wage month August 2025 or thereafter.
Who is Re-joinee?
Any employee, | - with a previous contributory membership of Employees Provident Fund either with EPFO or Exempted Trust andwith a previous contributory membership of Employees Provident Fund either with EPFO or Exempted Trust and | - joins an establishment covered under EPF and MP Act between 01.08.2025 to 31.07.2027.
What is EPF Wage?
“EPF Wage” means the wage on which contribution is paid in terms of Section 6 of the EPF and MP Act,1952.
What is meant by “Completed Wage Month” for the purpose of the scheme?
- Completed Wage Month refers to a full calendar month for which an employer has filed the Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR) in respect of the employees. | - For the purposes of calculating benefits under the scheme: | - If the employee joins on or before the 5th day of a month, then that month shall be treated as the first Completed Wage Month. If the employee joins after the 5th day of a month, then the following month be treated as the first Completed Wage Month.
How employees can register to avail benefits under Part A?
There is no registration process for the employees. They will be provided incentive on the basis of ECR filed by their establishment with EPFO.
Where will the FAT (Facial Authentication Technology) be available for employee UAN aauthentication?
The FAT facility provided on UMANG App will be utilized UAN authentication.
How is the incentive under Part A paid to the First Timer?
It is paid in two instalments directly into the Aadhar seeded bank account of the employees.
How many times incentive will be paid to the Employee during the scheme registration period?
It is a one time incentive to all the eligible First Timers.
What conditions must be met for the Second instalment payment?
The First Timer must: | - Complete the Financial Literacy Course, and | - Have worked for 12 completed months in the same establishment and all 12 months of ECR with contributions is filed by the establishment.
How is the second instalment handled?
The second instalment is held in a designated savings or deposit account for a period as specified in future guidelines issued by the Ministry of Labour & Employment.
What is the “Financial Literacy Course”?
A mandatory online course covering personal finance, savings, investments, etc. available on EPFO website.
What is the maximum incentive payable to a First Timer under Part A?
The incentive is equal to one completed month’s EPF wage, subject to a maximum of ₹15,000.
Is there any base line for the establishment for incentive to the employee?
No.
Is Aadhaar authentication required for eligibility?
Yes. Only those with FAT authenticated UAN are eligible for benefits.
What happens if an employee leaves voluntarily or due to unforeseen circumstances?
- If a First Timer leaves the establishment voluntarily or due to unforeseen circumstances before 06 months then they are not eligible for first installment. | - If a First Timer leaves the establishment voluntarily or due to unforeseen circumstances after 06 months but before 12 months then they are not eligible for second installment.
An employee has a UAN but never contributed to EPFO or any exempted trust, can they be considered a First Timer?
- If the employee has a UAN but has never had contributions credited to EPFO or an Exempted Trust before the scheme's start date, and the first contribution is received during the scheme registration period, they are considered a First Timer under the scheme. | - They will becomes eligible for the incentives under Part A, provided all other conditions (biometric Aadhaar authentication, continuous ECRs, completion of Financial Literacy course, etc.) are fulfilled.
Can an employee who has worked in an exempted establishment earlier qualify as First Timer?
If an employee was previously a contributing member in an Exempted Trust and now joins EPFO or vice versa, they cannot qualify as a First Timer.
What happens if an employee’s bank account is not linked with Aadhaar?
Payment of incentives to the employee will be suspended until the bank account is Aadhaar-seeded. However, incentives will continue to accrue. Once Aadhaar seeding is done, all pending payments, including arrears, will be released as per the scheme guidelines.
How the benefits will be calculated if the few existing employees (i.e. joined before 01.08.2025) leave or retire?
The payment of incentive will be done only on the basis of Net employment generated above the baseline as calculated and meeting of threshold criteria.
Under Part A in death cases if the employee was eligible for 1st instalment or 2nd instalment as the case may be and before the incentive is credited to the Bank account of the employee will the nominee receive the incentive?
Yes
What if an employee joins after the scheme registration period?
Employees who join the establishment after the end of the Scheme registration period are not eligible for incentive benefits under the Scheme. However, for incentive to the establishment such employees will be counted while calculating the Net Additional Employment over and above the baseline and determining threshold fulfillment.
How the employee can generate UAN?
The employee is required to generate UAN using FAT facility as provided on UMANG App and provide the UAN so generated to the employer for filing of ECRs and payment of contributions.
Whether an employee who has generated their own UAN using the UMANG App with Face Authentication can be linked to the employer’s establishment for verification and hence claim benefits under the scheme?
Yes.