近日，北京市房山区人民法院适用民法典规定，首次审结了一起离婚家务补偿案件。

 

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 joint¹ property equally. Wang was also awarded custody² of their son and 2,000 yuan per month in alimony.

北京市房山区人民法院判决一名陈姓男子向其前妻王女士支付5万元作为5年婚姻期间家务劳动的补偿。同时，法院判决孩子由王女士抚养，陈先生每月给付抚养费2000元；共同财产则由双方平均分割。

 

为何要补偿？

 

案件判决公布后，引发网友热议。有网友提出既然夫妻分工，家务劳动算是分工的一种，离婚时财产一人一半，为什么还有补偿一说？

 

有关专家认为：

 

Housework compensation is designed to offer additional protection to spouses⁴ who have undertaken more domestic chores -- and sacrificed opportunities to advance their career or education.

为家务付出较多的一方，还有着能力提高、学历增长等等无形中的牺牲，家务补偿是对家务劳动付出较多一方一个更加倾斜性的保护。

 

清华大学法学院副教授龙俊表示：

 

For the spouse³ 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，他离婚之后，还是可以继续之前享有的资源。他的人脉，他的身份地位不变，他离婚之后还可以获得这么多的收入。但是长期在家里默默付出的这一方的话，他离婚之后还是会涉及到一个重新回归社会的一个问题。这意味着什么呢，就是说在家务劳动这一方，他除了在婚姻关系存续间的付出以外他还有一个隐性的付出。

 

5万元的标准怎么计算的？

 

还有网友认为，5万元的补偿太少了，和付出不成正比。

 

根据《民法典》第一千零八十八条的规定：“夫妻一方因抚育子女、照料老年人、协助另一方工作等负担较多义务的（a spouse who takes more responsibility in raising children, caring for elderly family members or assisting their partner in career development），离婚时有权向另一方请求补偿（seek compensation from their partner），另一方应当给予补偿。具体办法由双方协议；协议不成的，由人民法院判决。

 

对于具体的补偿标准，该案主审法官冯淼表示，在《民法典》大框架下，这个定量主要是由法官合理合情合法地行使自由裁量权，5万元的经济补偿主要是考虑到以下因素：

 

双方婚后共同生活的时间 （how long the couple lived together）

 

女方在家务劳动中具体付出的情况（how much the woman did for the family）

 

男方个人的经济收入（the man's income levels）

 

当地一般的生活水平（the cost of living in the city）

 

本案为何引发热议？

 

民法典“激活”了离婚家务劳动补偿制度。

 

In 2001, housework compensation was added to a revision of China's marriage law with the precondition that it only applied⁵ to couples who agreed to separation of property, in which each spouse retains exclusive ownership of property acquired during the marriage.

2001年，“家务劳动补偿” 被写入《婚姻法》修正案，但必须以“夫妻书面约定婚姻关系存续期间所得的财产归各自所有”为前提。

 

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.

法律专家表示，在现实中，很少有夫妻达成财产分别拥有的正式协议，因此在离婚案中很少有符合条件能适用家务劳动补偿制度的。

 

民法典对此作出新规定，离婚家务劳动补偿制度被大大“激活”，家务劳动的价值也在法律层面得到更为广泛的承认和尊重。

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