Byju's Accused of Non-payment of Provident Fund, EPFO Data Reveals

Byju's, the prominent edtech unicorn, is facing allegations from several former employees regarding non-payment of the provident fund (PF) component of their salaries.

Despite attributing the issue to a "technical glitch," the company has been accused of failing to deposit the PF money into the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) account.

Screenshots of EPF account passbooks and salary slips shared by four ex-employees substantiate their claims. Moreover, data obtained from the EPFO portal support the assertion that Byju's has not been compliant with monthly deposits.

Records from FY24 reveal that Think and Learn Pvt Ltd, the parent company of Byju's, failed to pay PF contributions for a significant number of employees.

In April, the PF contribution for 3,164 employees was delayed by 36 days, and only 31 employees received payment for May. Although the company made PF contributions for December 2022, January 2023, February, and March on June 19, not all employees' accounts were credited accordingly, as indicated by the data.

The data further indicates a lack of discipline on Byju's part in fulfilling its PF obligations. Shockingly, some employees were only paid the PF money owed to them for 2020 as recently as June 2023, highlighting the recurring issue of delayed payments.

Payslips provided by former employees reveal that PF contributions were deducted from both the employees' and employers' sides.

 Samyuktha, a recent layoff victim, discovered the lapse when rumors of potential layoffs circulated in the office. "That was when I realized that the PF money was last deposited in my EPFO account in December 2022, for the month of November. I immediately alerted the HR about it, but they told me that it was a technical glitch," she said.

Ranjith*, who worked in Bengaluru from September 2020 to February 2022, faced consistent non-payment of PF throughout his tenure. "I was shocked when I checked my EPFO account during the pandemic when I was in dire need of money. Since then, I have written to the HR at least 50 times about this, but every time, I was told that the issue will be resolved in the next few days. They haven't credited the money even now," he expressed while sharing email screenshots. Despite filing a complaint with the EPFO, Ranjith* has yet to receive a response.

Numerous other former employees of Byju's have also shared similar experiences on various social media platforms.

When approached for comment, a spokesperson for Byju's stated, "This is to confirm that there are no pending PF payments towards employees. There are no dues," in a WhatsApp message.

The recent termination of 1,000 employees and the resignation of Deloitte, Byju's auditor, have further complicated the situation. Deloitte cited their inability to finalize audit reports for the financial years ending March 2021 and begin the audit for FY22 as the reason for their resignation.

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