Byju’s again delays PF contribution for most employees

Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) data, accessed by ET, show that Byju’s made payments worth Rs 14.6 lakh, in the names of 738 employees, for June, as against 24,818 employees for the month of May.

At least three employees ET spoke to confirmed that their EPF accounts showed PF payments had been made only till March, this year. These employees confirmed this by viewing their PF statements on the EPFO site.

“We (employees) thought that they had made all PF payouts till June when the news reports came out saying that Byju’s will clear all the payments. But now I see that only payments till March are logged on my PF passbook. Some colleagues have payment till June,” one of the employees told ET, requesting anonymity.

Also read |Byju’s shareholder Prosus cites poor corporate governance for board exit

Last month, a Byju’s spokesperson told the media that the company has made full payouts to employees and that no PF dues were pending.

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However, as per the records accessed this month, the startup has been settling older PF dues of employees, dues dating as far back as May and August 2022. In July, Byju’s paid at least Rs 26.48 lakhs in PF payments for last year’s salaries, the data shows.

News portal Moneycontrol first reported about the company delaying June PF payouts to employees, on Tuesday, while The Hindu Business Line newspaper reported about the issue first on June 25.

A spokesperson for Byju’s did not respond to ET’s queries on the matter immediately.

Also read | Byju’s downsizes Bengaluru office space in cost-saving bid

Crisis mode
Over the past few months, the edtech firm, regarded as India’s most valued startup, has plunged from one crisis to another.

It faced challenges with lenders in the US, and battled their demand for “accelerated repayment” of a $1.2 billion Term Loan B (TLB).

Some of the lenders and Byju’s have initiated litigation in the US courts against each other.

Due to the conflict, Byju’s also missed making a $40 million interest payment to the TLB creditors in June.

Earlier this week, the troubled edtech reached a tentative agreement to rework its loan pact with a consortium of lenders, who collectively own more than 85% of the $1.2 billion TLB – bringing some much-needed relief for the edtech.

Byju’s had also signed a structured credit transaction from Davidson Kempner on May 13 for Rs 2,000 crore. It has, however, only received Rs 800 crore of that amount, ET reported on June 28.

Last month, as the crisis deepened, Byju’s investor-appointed board members — representing Peak XV Partners (earlier Sequoia Capital India), Prosus (previously Naspers) and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative — resigned, leaving only founder Byju Raveendran and his family members on the board.

Deloitte, too, resigned as the company’s official auditor, citing a delay in receiving financial statements for FY22.

Following these exits, the company appointed BDO (MSKA & Associates) as its statutory auditor for five years, with effect from FY22.

To placate investors and creditors over concerns about its corporate governance practices, Byju’s announced on July 13 that it had roped in former State Bank of India chairman Rajnish Kumar and former Infosys chief financial officer Mohandas Pai as members of its board advisory committee (BAC).

CEO Byju Raveendran and newly appointed CFO Ajay Goel promised shareholders on June 24 that the company’s audited FY22 financials will be filed by September, while audited results for FY23 will be released by December 2023.