Now, UAN will not be generated without FAT, the selection process of more than 1000 candidates stopped in 2 days due to EPFO's new rule

EPFO Update: The Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), which has a membership of more than 130 companies across the country, has expressed concern over a recent order of the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). Under this, face authentication will be required to generate Universal Account Number (UAN) from Umang App from 1 August 2025. That is, now UAN will be issued through Face Authentication Technology (FAT) through UMANG App. This new rule will be applicable to all new employees.

More than 1000 jobs stuck in 2 days

Indian Staffing Federation says that due to the change in the rules of Face Authentication Technology (FAT), the selection process of more than 1,000 candidates has been stopped in just two days. This has not only affected the payroll but there are also difficulties in following PF contribution and other rules. According to ISF, a large number of temporary workers are taken in staffing companies. Their joining and exit happens continuously here.

Now it is necessary for every employee to update KYC, for which FAT has been made mandatory. Now the problem is that many employees do not have smartphone or internet facility, due to which it is taking time to generate UAN and this is directly affecting the payment of salary and PF contribution.

These problems are especially being faced in MSMEs and high turnover sectors, where face recognition is failing due to server down or poor quality of camera or network. This is causing delay in making UAN. Now EPFO has set a deadline of 30 June 2025 for Aadhaar linking and FAT. Non-compliance of rules on time can lead to penalty, PF contribution can be stopped. This will affect both the employee and the employer. ISF has given some suggestions to deal with these things.

ISF gave some suggestions

ISF says that the deadline for digital onboarding and FAT awareness should be extended so that employees get some more time to understand about EPFO, UAN and UMANG app. FAT registration should be made easy with proper support and communication. Also, employers should be allowed to create UAN from the portal for first-time job seekers so that there is no delay in PF registration.

What is UAN?

Universal Account Number is issued by EPFO, which is colloquially called UAN. UAN acts as an umbrella identity for multiple member IDs issued to an individual by different employers. Universal Account Number (UAN) is a 12-digit number given to every employee who opens an account under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The UAN number remains the same even if the employee changes jobs.