LATEST NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Directorate of Labour has published The Maternity/Paternity Leave Fund’s annual report on utilization of entitlement for the year 2022. This is the second time that the report is made according to the Act on Maternity/Paternity Leave and Parental Leave No. 144/2020. The directorate was assisted in writing the report by Ásdís Aðalbjörg Arnalds Ph.D., a project manager at the Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Iceland in accordance with a cooperation agreement of The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, The Directorate of Labour and The University of Iceland.

On January 1st 2023, The Bereavement Leave Act No. 77/2022 takes effect. The aim of the Act is to ensure that parents have room to grieve after the loss of a child, and to support surviving siblings in adapting to changed circumstances. It is also intended to increase the likelihood of parents successfully entering the labour market and being able to actively participate in society again after the loss of a child. The Act covers the rights of parents who have been working continuously in the domestic labour market to bereavement leave, as well as payments to compensate for loss of income during the period of the bereavement leave. The Act also covers the right to bereavement grant for parents who are outside the labour market or have worked in an employment ratio less than 25% and for parents studying full time. Parents’ entitlement to a bereavement leave or bereavement grant is up to six months from the day they suffer the loss of a child, and it expires 24 months later.