EPFO plans to improve grievance redressal, says no complaint should remain unattended for over 7 days
Received 2 million grievances from stakeholders in FY25
- Jul 11, 2025,
- Updated Jul 11, 2025 2:19 PM IST
Unable to access your provident fund money or transfer your account? Did you file a complaint with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation? You are not alone. In 2024-25, the EPFO received as many as 2 million grievances from its stakeholders through various platforms.
Now, taking cognizance of the large number of complaints, the EPFO, which is already working on revamping its processes and tech interface, is also looking to improve its grievance redressal and plans to strengthen its communication channels. As part of the strategy, it also wants to ensure that “no grievance or grievance related document should remain unattended for more than seven working days on any official’s desk”.
The retirement fund manager has now come out with a strategy to improve grievance redressal in offices and restore stakeholder trust. Noting that it received 2 million grievances last fiscal, the EPFO in a recent missive said, “This volume reflects the need to improve our grievance system and to address stakeholder's issues constructively,” it said, adding that Public Relation Officials (PROs) in Regional Offices can play a crucial role in providing timely, efficient, empathetic and effective member services thus resolving stakeholder's issues and in turn reducing grievances.
Outlining measures to improve grievance redressal, the EPFO has said that experienced and adequate number of officials with soft skills be posted in the PROs.
The concept of ‘Officer of the Day’ has been initiated, wherein a Group-A Officer will be available at PROs for at least an hour on all working days to attend to stakeholders’ grievances and queries. “Regional Offices are free to decide the timings for this, but it should be ensured that timings should be such when maximum footfall is in facilitation center. The concept of ‘Officer of the Day’ along with timings should be prominently displayed in the Office premises,” it has underlined.
The details of visitors and stakeholders with their grievances and issues be recorded and the issues of visitors who have made more than one visit for the same issue should be resolved on priority, the EPFO has further said. Further, in cases, where grievance resolution takes time, stakeholders must be informed of the expected timeline and reason for the delay, which would help relieve their anxiety.
It has also frowned upon the practice of not responding to phone calls and has said that it should be ensured that office landline numbers are adequately manned and issues or grievances raised telephonically by members are documented and resolved.
The EPFO has over 350 million member accounts and subscribers can get in touch with the EPFO for grievance redressal through a variety of ways including its web portal and social media.
Unable to access your provident fund money or transfer your account? Did you file a complaint with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation? You are not alone. In 2024-25, the EPFO received as many as 2 million grievances from its stakeholders through various platforms.
Now, taking cognizance of the large number of complaints, the EPFO, which is already working on revamping its processes and tech interface, is also looking to improve its grievance redressal and plans to strengthen its communication channels. As part of the strategy, it also wants to ensure that “no grievance or grievance related document should remain unattended for more than seven working days on any official’s desk”.
The retirement fund manager has now come out with a strategy to improve grievance redressal in offices and restore stakeholder trust. Noting that it received 2 million grievances last fiscal, the EPFO in a recent missive said, “This volume reflects the need to improve our grievance system and to address stakeholder's issues constructively,” it said, adding that Public Relation Officials (PROs) in Regional Offices can play a crucial role in providing timely, efficient, empathetic and effective member services thus resolving stakeholder's issues and in turn reducing grievances.
Outlining measures to improve grievance redressal, the EPFO has said that experienced and adequate number of officials with soft skills be posted in the PROs.
The concept of ‘Officer of the Day’ has been initiated, wherein a Group-A Officer will be available at PROs for at least an hour on all working days to attend to stakeholders’ grievances and queries. “Regional Offices are free to decide the timings for this, but it should be ensured that timings should be such when maximum footfall is in facilitation center. The concept of ‘Officer of the Day’ along with timings should be prominently displayed in the Office premises,” it has underlined.
The details of visitors and stakeholders with their grievances and issues be recorded and the issues of visitors who have made more than one visit for the same issue should be resolved on priority, the EPFO has further said. Further, in cases, where grievance resolution takes time, stakeholders must be informed of the expected timeline and reason for the delay, which would help relieve their anxiety.
It has also frowned upon the practice of not responding to phone calls and has said that it should be ensured that office landline numbers are adequately manned and issues or grievances raised telephonically by members are documented and resolved.
The EPFO has over 350 million member accounts and subscribers can get in touch with the EPFO for grievance redressal through a variety of ways including its web portal and social media.