Child Protection Policy

§ 1. PREAMBLE

Considering the legal obligation arising from the provisions of the Act of May 13, 2016, on counteracting threats related to sexual crime and the protection of minors and the content of the United Nations guidelines on business and human rights, recognizing the important role of business in ensuring respect for children's rights, HOTEL Łokietek adopts the Child Protection Policy. This document constitutes a set of principles and procedures applied in cases of suspicion that a child staying at HOTEL ŁOKIETEK is being harmed, and for preventing such threats, taking into account the situation of disabled children and children with special educational needs.

The Child Protection Policy at HOTEL ŁOKIETEK is implemented based on the following principles:

1. HOTEL Łokietek conducts its operational activities with respect for the rights of children as particularly vulnerable individuals to harm.
2. HOTEL Łokietek recognizes its role in conducting socially responsible business and promoting desired social attitudes.
3. HOTEL Łokietek particularly emphasizes the importance of the legal and social duty to notify law enforcement authorities of any suspicion of a crime committed against children and commits to training its staff in this regard.

§ 2. DEFINITIONS:

1. Tourist facilities – hotel facilities and other facilities where hotel services specified in the Act of August 29, 1997, on hotel services and services of tour leaders and tourist guides, are provided.
2. Child/minor – for the purposes of this Policy, a child is any person who has not reached 18 years of age.
3. Child guardian – the legal representative of the child: parent or guardian; foster parent; temporary guardian (i.e. a person authorized to represent a minor Ukrainian citizen who stays in the territory of the Republic of Poland without the care of adults).
4. Stranger adult means any person over 18 years of age who is not the child's parent or legal guardian.
5. Child abuse – committing a prohibited act or a criminal act against a child by any person, including staff members, or endangering the welfare of a child, including neglect. All crimes that can be committed against adults can also be committed against children, plus additional crimes that can only be committed against children (e.g., sexual exploitation under Article 200 of the Penal Code). Due to the nature of tourist facilities, where it is easy to obtain the opportunity for seclusion, the crimes most likely to occur on their premises are crimes against sexual freedom and morality, particularly rape (Article 197 of the Penal Code), sexual exploitation of incapacity and helplessness (Art. 198 PC), sexual exploitation of dependency or critical position (Art. 199 PC), sexual exploitation of a person under 15 years of age (Art. 200 PC), grooming (seduction of a minor via means of remote communication – Art. 200a PC);
6. Crime against a child – all crimes that may be committed against adults may also be committed against children, plus the crimes that can only be committed against children (e.g., sexual exploitation under Art. 200 of the Penal Code). Due to the nature of accommodation facilities, where seclusion is easily possible, the crimes most likely to occur on their premises are crimes against sexual freedom and morality, in particular rape (Art. 197 of the Penal Code), sexual exploitation of incapacity and helplessness (Art. 198 PC), sexual exploitation of dependency or critical position (Art. 199 PC), sexual exploitation of a person under 15 years of age (Art. 200 PC), grooming (seduction of a minor via means of remote communication - Art. 200a PC).
7. Other forms of child abuse than committing a crime against them – all forms of violence against a child that do not meet the criteria of a crime prosecuted ex officio (e.g. shouting, humiliating, grabbing, insulting, neglecting needs, etc.).
8. Employee means a person employed under an employment contract or performing work based on a similar contract (e.g. mandate, B2B, work contract), as well as an intern, trainee, volunteer, etc.
9. Employee working with children means any person performing tasks or delegated to perform tasks directly related to upbringing, education, recreation, treatment, psychological counseling, spiritual development, practicing sports or carrying out other interests of minors, or caring for them.

§ 3. FACILITY STAFF

General principles

1. HOTEL ŁOKIETEK commits to educating its employees about circumstances indicating that a child staying at the facility may be harmed and on ways to respond quickly and appropriately to such situations. The facility may implement this education through various training formats, e.g. external training, internal training, e-learning, educational materials developed by the hotel and available to employees, free educational materials developed by other organizations.
2. Each employee, before starting work, is familiarized with the Child Protection Policy, which they confirm by signing a statement and committing to abide by the principles and procedures contained in this document.

Employment of persons working with children

1. Persons working directly with children must prove in their employment history that they have not harmed any child in the past.
2. Every person employed/delegated by Hotel Łokietek to work directly with children must be mandatorily checked in the Register of Offenders of Sexual Crimes, this also applies to underage employees, i.e. below 18 years of age. The check is carried out by printing the person’s search results from the restricted access Register, which is then placed in the personnel files of the checked person.
3. Furthermore, every person employed/delegated to direct work with children must provide information from the National Criminal Register concerning offenses specified in Chapters XIX and XXV of the Penal Code, in Art. 189a and Art. 207 PC and in the Act of July 29, 2005 on counteracting drug addiction (Journal of Laws 2023 item 172 and 2022 item 2600), or equivalent prohibited acts specified in foreign law.
4. Under penalties of criminal liability, a declaration with the following content is made: "I am aware of criminal liability for making a false statement." This statement replaces the body’s instruction on criminal liability for making a false statement.

Principles of safe employee-child relationships

1. All employees of Hotel Łokietek, as well as other adults who have contact with children on the premises, if this contact takes place with the facility’s consent, are obliged to apply the following principles.
2. The fundamental rule of all actions undertaken by employees having contact with children on the premises of Hotel Łokietek is to treat the child with respect and to consider their dignity and needs.
3. It is unacceptable for employees and other adults to use any form of violence against a child.
   
   

1. Behaviors and practices expected from employees

• Maintain patience and respect in communication with the child.
• Listen carefully to the child and provide responses appropriate to their age and situation. When communicating with a child, try to have your face at the child's eye level.
• Assure the child that if they feel uncomfortable in any situation, they can tell you or another designated person and receive help.
• Inform the child where the Child Protection Policy is located in the hotel in a version understandable to them. Assure them they may ask you or another designated person if they have questions.
• Respect equal treatment of children regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, ability/disability, social, ethnic, cultural, religious, or world view status.
• Ensure a safe space. If children are in the area where you work, make sure the equipment and furnishings are used as intended, and the surroundings are safe (pay attention to window and stair protections, restricted access to busy roads, open water, etc.).
• If you see a child/children left unattended and the situation may indicate a threat to the child’s safety, take action to find the parent/guardian.

2. Behaviors and practices unacceptable from employees towards children in the facility

• You must not shout at, embarrass, humiliate, neglect or insult a child.
• You must not hit, push, shove or in any way violate the child’s physical integrity unless there is a threat to the child’s health or life.
• You must not establish any romantic or sexual relationships with the child or make inappropriate proposals. This includes sexual comments, jokes, gestures, and providing children with erotic or pornographic content regardless of its form.
• You must not record or photograph the child for private or official purposes without the consent of the child’s parents/guardians and the child. This also applies to allowing third parties to record children’s images. An exception is when the child's image constitutes only a detail of a whole, such as an assembly, landscape, public event, where parental consent is not required.
• You must not contact the child through private communication channels (private phone, e-mail, messengers, social media profiles) or meet with the child outside the workplace. You must not offer the child alcohol, tobacco products or illegal substances.
• Never touch a child if they do not want it or in a way that could be considered indecent or inappropriate.

If you witness any of the above-described behaviors and/or situations by other adults or children, always inform the Manager, Direction, or immediate supervisor.

§ 4. PROCEDURE FOR IDENTIFYING A CHILD DURING REGISTRATION AT THE RECEPTION

1. When admitting a child to stay at Hotel Łokietek, whenever possible, identification of the child and their relationship with the adult accompanying them in the hotel should be carried out.
2. It is mandatory for reception staff to identify the child in unusual and suspicious situations indicating a risk of child abuse.
3. To identify the child and their relationship to the adult staying at the hotel, you should:

• ask for the identity of the child and their relationship to the person who arrived at or is staying in the hotel. You may request the child’s identity document or other document confirming that the adult has the right to care for the child (e.g. birth certificate, court ruling). If the identity document is missing, you may ask for the child's data (name, surname, address, PESEL number);
• if there are no documents indicating the kinship between the child and the adult, ask about the relationship from both the adult and the child;
• if the adult is not the child’s guardian, ask if they have a document certifying the consent of the child’s guardians to the adult's shared travel with the child (e.g., written consent from at least one parent/legal guardian);

1. If the adult does not have a consent document from the child's guardians, request the phone number of the above-mentioned persons to call and confirm the child’s presence at the hotel with the stranger adult with the knowledge and consent of the child's guardians.
2. If the adult resists showing the child’s document or indicating the relationship, explain that the procedure serves to ensure the safety of children using Hotel Łokietek, and such obligation arises from generally applicable law.
3. If the conversation does not dispel doubts about suspicion towards the adult and their intentions to harm the child, discreetly notify the Manager, Director, immediate supervisor or a person designated by them. To avoid raising suspicions, you may, for example, refer to the necessity to use equipment at the back of the reception, asking the adult to wait with the child in the lobby, restaurant or another place.
4. From the moment the first doubts arise, both the child and the adult should be under constant observation by staff and not left alone.
5. The Manager, Director or a person designated by them decides whether to notify the police or in case of doubts takes over the conversation with the suspected adult to obtain further explanations.
6. If the conversation confirms the belief of an attempt or commission of a crime against the child, the supervisor informs the police. Then, procedures for circumstances indicating child harm apply.
7. If staff from other organizational units (e.g., cleaning service, room service, bar and restaurant staff, security) witness unusual or suspicious situations, they should immediately notify the Manager, Director of the Hotel, immediate supervisor or a person designated by them, who will decide on appropriate actions.

§ 5. PROCEDURES FOR RESPONDING IN CASE OF REASONABLE SUSPICION THAT THE WELFARE OF A CHILD PRESENT ON THE PREMISES OF HOTEL ŁOKIETEK OR USING THE HOTEL’S SERVICES IS THREATENED

1. Reasonable suspicion of child abuse exists when:

• the child has disclosed to the facility employee the fact of abuse,
• an employee has observed abuse, the child has marks of abuse (e.g., scratches, bruises), and when asked responds inconsistently and/or chaotically or becomes embarrassed, or there are other circumstances indicating abuse, e.g., finding pornographic materials with children in the room of an adult.

1. An employee who reasonably suspects that a child in the facility is or has been abused should immediately notify the superior/decision-maker, who will notify the police. If the child’s safety is at risk, the employee who suspects abuse immediately informs the police by calling 112 and describing the circumstances. Regardless, the employee informs the Manager or Director of Hotel Łokietek.
2. In all cases, the child's safety should be ensured. The child should stay under the supervision of an employee until the police arrive, if possible.
3. If there is reasonable suspicion that a crime involving contact between the child and the perpetrator’s biological material (semen, saliva, skin) has occurred, try to prevent the child from washing and eating/drinking until the police arrive. Explain to the child why these restrictions apply.
4. After the child is taken by the police, secure monitoring material and other relevant evidence (e.g. documents) relating to the incident and provide their copies to the prosecutor or police via registered mail or in person at their request.
5. The staff and the intervening person are obliged to prepare an official report of the event and actions taken. The report may be written or emailed.
6. After the intervention, describe the event in the register of events threatening the child’s welfare. This register is kept by a person appointed by the hotel director.

§ 6. PROCEDURE IN CASE OF SUSPICION OR CONFIRMATION OF CHILD ABUSE BY AN EMPLOYEE/OTHER ADULT

1. In case of suspicion of child abuse by an employee or another adult not directly employed by Hotel Łokietek but by a third party, the person who received this information should immediately inform the Manager, Director, immediate supervisor or a person designated by them.
2. If the child's life or health is threatened, the person who received the information should immediately notify the police by calling the emergency number 112, providing own data, the child's data (if possible), the child's whereabouts, and a description of the circumstances, and notify the superior/decision-maker, who will inform the child’s guardians/parents.

§ 7. PROCEDURE IN CASE OF CONFIRMATION OF OTHER FORMS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST A CHILD BY A PARENT/LEGAL GUARDIAN/OTHER ADULT

1. If child abuse is confirmed by a parent/legal guardian or another adult with whom the child is staying on the premises, every employee witnessing such abuse should react firmly.
2. If the child's life or health is threatened, the person who received the information should immediately notify the police by calling 112, providing own data, child’s data (if possible), child’s location, and circumstances, and notify the superior/decision-maker.
3. If an employee witnesses physical violence against a child (spanking, grabbing, shouting, other physical violence defined), they should try to stop the abuse and respond.
4. In case a child under 7 years old is left unattended, the employee who learns of this incident should notify the supervisor. The notified supervisor decides on further actions within the context of the Penal Code and Misdemeanor Code provisions. Depending on this context, the supervisor attempts to find the parent/legal guardian or other adult with whom the child stays on the premises and explains that the child cannot be left unattended. If finding a parent/legal guardian or other adult is impossible, or if they refuse or are unable to take care of the child, the supervisor notifies the police. In all cases, the child's safety must be ensured.

§ 8. FINAL PROVISIONS

1. The Child Protection Policy comes into effect on 15.10.2024
2. Hotel Łokietek makes the Child Protection Policy available on its website and at the hotel's main reception.