A man has been ordered by a divorce court to pay his wife for the household work that she did for five years of their marriage.
The woman, who is identified by her surname Wang, will receive 50,000 Chinese yuan (£5,460) for five years of unpaid labour, the Independent reports.
The case in Beijing is believed to be the first in the country to set a monetary worth for domestic labour from a spouse.
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The court ruling was made in accordance to the new civil code which came into effect last month.
A spouse is entitled to seek compensation from their partner during their divorce If they had more domestic responsibility during the marriage. This includes raising the children and caring for elderly relatives.
The couple married in 2015 and they started living separately in 2018.
The husband is only identified by his surname, Chen, in court records. He filed for divorce in May 2020.
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Wang requested a division of property and financial compensation on the grounds that her husband did not shoulder domestic and childcare responsibility.
Beijing's Fangshan District Court ruled in Wang's favour and directed her soon-to-be ex-husband Chen to pay her monthly alimony of 2,000 yuan (£218), as well as the one-off payment of 50,000 yuan for the housework she has done.
The amount of domestic work mums have had to take on - especially during the lockdown - has received a lot of attention recently. Parents have had a lot to contend with this year, and research shows women have typically shouldered the biggest additional burden.
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In the UK this week a campaign was launched by family support charity Family Action and Red Letter Days that aims to reclaim 100,000 hours of "mumpaid" labour on behalf of hard-working mums.
The campaign aims to claim back 100,000 hours of 'mumpaid labour' before Mother's Day 2021: helping improve maternal mental health, encourage families to spend quality time together, and showing parents that their efforts over the last year haven't gone unnoticed.
Christine Ducker, PR & Brand Communications Manager at Red Letter Days, says: "We want the nation to help us claim back 100,000 hours of 'mumpaid labour', so that those who've worked so tirelessly this year can enjoy some well-deserved time for themselves.
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"If you've been juggling childcare, work responsibilities and the health of family members, we also encourage you to use this campaign to take time out to do something you love."
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Topics: Life News, lockdown, Mums, Sex and Relationships, Life