89% of expecting parents choose digital application

For the past two years, Digital Iceland and the Directorate of Labour have continuously been developing the digital application for parental leave. Since the digital application opened at the beginning of 2022, emphasis has been placed on increasing and improving the functioning of the application process, which will further facilitate expectant parents applying for parental leave in a simple and user-friendly way. In the first version of the application, about 70% of expectant parents were able to apply for parental leave digitally. They were people who belonged to the private sector and were self-employed. The digital application has been systematically developed to be accessible to everyone.

Amongst other developments, students and parents out of work and on unemployment benefits can now apply for parental leave digitally. It is also possible to apply for separate and change parental leave periods. The latest group to be able to apply digitally are those who take a child into permanent foster care or adopt a child. In addition, a pregnant parent who, due to special circumstances, needs to stay away from his/her home before the birth of a child can apply for a residence grant. This will close the loophole and make digital parental leave accessible to anyone who wants it.

The new automated process retrieves all the data that must accompany the application and automatically forwards it to the spouse and employer for approval. Still, if further data needs to be called for, such as a medical certificate or confirmation of the student's placement, it is now possible to add such data at a later stage in the process.

Digital applications for parental leave have been immensely well received by expectant parents, now with 89% of applicants choosing the digital process in one year. What used to require considerable work can now be done simply on the phone. The application saves significant time and effort for expectant parents and increases oversight, for one can follow up on the status of the applications on My sites in Ísland.is and in the Ísland.is app.

The application was immediately very well received by users, and usage has increased steadily this year since the application was made available. In the first month that the application was made available to the public, 20% of expectant parents chose the digital route, up to 89% this February and still increasing.

Andri Heiðar Kristinsson, CEO of Digital Iceland:

A digital application for parental leave is a massive collaboration between the Parental Leave Fund, under the auspices of the Directorate of Labour, and Digital Iceland. It was originally developed in collaboration with the development team of Aranja, but in March 2022, Deloitte took over development.