近日，北京市房山區(qū)人民法院適用民法典規(guī)定，首次審結(jié)了一起離婚家務(wù)補償案件。

The ruling, made by Beijing Fangshan District People's Court, ordered a man, surnamed Chen, to pay 50,000 yuan ($7,700) to his ex-wife surnamed Wang as compensation for her housework during their five-year marriage, after splitting their joint property equally. Wang was also awarded custody of their son and 2,000 yuan per month in alimony.
北京市房山區(qū)人民法院判決一名陳姓男子向其前妻王女士支付5萬元作為5年婚姻期間家務(wù)勞動的補償。同時，法院判決孩子由王女士撫養(yǎng)，陳先生每月給付撫養(yǎng)費2000元；共同財產(chǎn)則由雙方平均分割。

為何要補償？

案件判決公布后，引發(fā)網(wǎng)友熱議。有網(wǎng)友提出既然夫妻分工，家務(wù)勞動算是分工的一種，離婚時財產(chǎn)一人一半，為什么還有補償一說？

有關(guān)專家認(rèn)為：

Housework compensation is designed to offer additional protection to spouses who have undertaken more domestic chores -- and sacrificed opportunities to advance their career or education.
為家務(wù)付出較多的一方，還有著能力提高、學(xué)歷增長等等無形中的犧牲，家務(wù)補償是對家務(wù)勞動付出較多一方一個更加傾斜性的保護。

清華大學(xué)法學(xué)院副教授龍俊表示：

For the spouse who works outside, after divorce they can still enjoy the resources, connections and status they've had -- and still earn the same level of income. But for the spouse who has been paying efforts quietly at home, they will have to face the problem of returning to (work). This means that the homemaker has to pay a hidden cost in addition to the efforts they paid during the marriage.
在外面工作那一方，他離婚之后，還是可以繼續(xù)之前享有的資源。他的人脈，他的身份地位不變，他離婚之后還可以獲得這么多的收入。但是長期在家里默默付出的這一方的話，他離婚之后還是會涉及到一個重新回歸社會的一個問題。這意味著什么呢，就是說在家務(wù)勞動這一方，他除了在婚姻關(guān)系存續(xù)間的付出以外他還有一個隱性的付出。

5萬元的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)怎么計算的？

還有網(wǎng)友認(rèn)為，5萬元的補償太少了，和付出不成正比。

根據(jù)《民法典》第一千零八十八條的規(guī)定：“夫妻一方因撫育子女、照料老年人、協(xié)助另一方工作等負(fù)擔(dān)較多義務(wù)的（a spouse who takes more responsibility in raising children, caring for elderly family members or assisting their partner in career development），離婚時有權(quán)向另一方請求補償（seek compensation from their partner），另一方應(yīng)當(dāng)給予補償。具體辦法由雙方協(xié)議；協(xié)議不成的，由人民法院判決。

對于具體的補償標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，該案主審法官馮淼表示，在《民法典》大框架下，這個定量主要是由法官合理合情合法地行使自由裁量權(quán)，5萬元的經(jīng)濟補償主要是考慮到以下因素：

雙方婚后共同生活的時間 （how long the couple lived together）

女方在家務(wù)勞動中具體付出的情況（how much the woman did for the family）

男方個人的經(jīng)濟收入（the man's income levels）

當(dāng)?shù)匾话愕纳钏剑╰he cost of living in the city）

本案為何引發(fā)熱議？

民法典“激活”了離婚家務(wù)勞動補償制度。

In 2001, housework compensation was added to a revision of China's marriage law with the precondition that it only applied to couples who agreed to separation of property, in which each spouse retains exclusive ownership of property acquired during the marriage.
2001年，“家務(wù)勞動補償” 被寫入《婚姻法》修正案，但必須以“夫妻書面約定婚姻關(guān)系存續(xù)期間所得的財產(chǎn)歸各自所有”為前提。

In reality, however, legal experts say few Chinese couples have reached formal agreement to keep their property separate, so it's rare for divorcing spouses to qualify for court-approved housework compensation.
法律專家表示，在現(xiàn)實中，很少有夫妻達成財產(chǎn)分別擁有的正式協(xié)議，因此在離婚案中很少有符合條件能適用家務(wù)勞動補償制度的。

民法典對此作出新規(guī)定，離婚家務(wù)勞動補償制度被大大“激活”，家務(wù)勞動的價值也在法律層面得到更為廣泛的承認(rèn)和尊重。

【相關(guān)詞匯】

joint estate/common wealth/mutual property 共同財產(chǎn)

pre-marital property 婚前財產(chǎn)

prenuptial agreement 婚前協(xié)議

division of property 財產(chǎn)分割

divorce proceeding 離婚訴訟

divorce settlement 離婚協(xié)議書

child custody and visitation 子女監(jiān)護權(quán)及探視權(quán)

alimony 贍養(yǎng)費

參考來源：澎湃新聞、中國日報、央視新聞

（中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 Helen）