EPFO's Face Authentication: Staffing Challenges Ahead
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has introduced mandatory face authentication for generating Universal Account Numbers (UAN). This decision, aimed at streamlining the onboarding process, has raised significant concerns among staffing companies in India.
One major challenge highlighted by the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF) is that many workers' mobile numbers are not linked to their Aadhaar cards. This issue complicates the process of generating a UAN recognized by the face authentication technology (FAT). Additionally, candidates are often unfamiliar with how FAT functions, leading to confusion about the required distance from the app and varying settings across different smartphone brands.
According to the ISF, the requirement for individual employee participation in facial authentication poses logistical challenges, especially given the transient nature of the workforce. Coordinating FAT for thousands of employees across multiple locations is both time-consuming and complicated. Many workers also lack access to smartphones or stable internet connections, further hindering compliance with the new regulations.
The ISF expressed concerns that delays in UAN generation could disrupt salary processing and provident fund contributions, particularly affecting small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and sectors with high employee turnover. The organization reported that over a short period, they were unable to enroll more than 1,000 candidates due to the immediate restrictions imposed by the UIDAI.
In April, EPFO issued a circular making Aadhaar-based FAT mandatory for UAN generation, effective from August 1, 2025. The EPFO has stated that UAN will only be generated through the UMANG app using this technology, leaving exceptions for international workers and citizens of Nepal and Bhutan.
The ISF argued that the restrictions on employers generating UANs, combined with the FAT requirements, significantly delay the onboarding process. Many candidates do not remember which mobile number is linked to their Aadhaar card, complicating updates required for obtaining a UAN.
The ISF believes that the issues surrounding face authentication need a long-term resolution to prevent complications in the hiring process. They have suggested that EPFO should allow employers to generate UANs for first-time employees and consider extending the compliance deadline for digital onboarding through FAT.
