Since the opening of digital applications for maternity/paternity leave and maternity/paternity grants in 2022, the focus has been on enhancing and improving the functioning of the application process to include all groups and situations of expectant parents.

The goal of this project is to enable all expectant parents to make use of a digital application for maternity/paternity leave and a grant on the web, Ísland.is, and to have 100% of applicants for parental leave choose the digital option. In March 2022, the proportion of electronic applications from the Maternity/Paternity Leave Fund was around 25%, but by the end of the year it had reached 85%.

The process is made as simple and user-friendly as possible, which involves automatically retrieving data that must be included in the application from other systems and forwarding it to the appropriate parties for approval. No papers or unnecessary manual labour, so the project will yield great savings in time and convenience for both applicants and processors.

The process

• Includes the interaction of offline and different systems through Ísland.is. All the information that needs to be submitted with an application is in one place but comes from different systems. Previously, the application contained 4-5 forms, in addition to additional data that was often sent via emails between people.

• Most of the data that must accompany the application are automatically retrieved and automatically forwarded to the spouse and employer for approval, if applicable.

• Applicants may change and add periods and divide the days for maternity/paternity leave between them.

• The status of the application is also published in the Digital Iceland application system.

• If the Maternity/Paternity Leave Fund requests further documentation it may add this to the application.

Challenge

The main challenge of the project was to identify and implement different rights and arrangements of applicants and to set it up in a simple flow for the applicant. It was necessary to ensure that when more types of applications were added to the process, i.e. for different groups and different circumstances, that all rights of people were accessible and updated in the system so that the maternity/paternity leave could be arranged as people wish and have a right to. Technically, then, it is the case that for each group of applicants, given their different circumstances and backgrounds, a special entitlement code must be enclosed which is sent with the type of application to the Directorate of Labour. It was also a considerable challenge to design a gateway between Digital Iceland and the Directorate of Labour so that the Directorate of Labour can update the status of applications from its systems and/or call for further data in the most efficient way.

Benefits

It is now possible to apply for new periods and change periods of maternity leave. More than one employer may approve an application and documents may be added to an application afterwards if the Maternity/Paternity Leave Fund calls for further information.

More groups can now use digital maternity/paternity leave applications than before:

• Applicants in the public sector.

• Self-employed.

• Applicants for unemployment benefit.

• Non-Labour candidates.

• Students, in the off-sector.

• Application for multiple births.

• Applications for/assisted reproduction.

• Application for father without mother (e.g. mother living abroad).

• Application for a residence grant linked to pregnancy.

• Application for permanent foster care or adoption.

Service owner and partner:

Digital Iceland and the Directorate of Labour (the Maternity/Paternity Leave Fund).

Development team

The project has been carried out in collaboration with a software team from Aranja and Deloitte.

Aranja started implementation, but Deloitte took over and has added further functionality and new types of applications.