Children policy at the Art Hotel

Children policy at the Art Hotel

v. 2 of 15/08/2024

I. Introduction

1. This document contains the children’s policy applied by the Art Hotel, i.e. the services and rules for minors that we follow in our processes for serving minors.
2. This Policy implements the provisions of the Act of 13 May 2016 on Preventing the Risk of Sexual Offences and the Protection of Minors (Journal of Laws 2016, item 862, as amended) and the content of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

II. Services for minors

1. The Art Hotel offers stays for families with children. At www.arthotel.pl/artkids, there are details on the currently available offers to be found.  
2. The restaurant has always a special menu for children, which is also available in case of meetings of any kind or banquets.
3. The hotel may provide additional equipment for children during the stay, such as a baby crib, a bathtub or a high chair. The current list of the accessories is available at the reception.
4. We do not offer baby-sitting for children using services of the Art Hotel.
5. We do not carry out work placements for underage students.
6. Minors are not allowed to stay alone and unattended at the Art Hotel.

III. Rules for the stay and residence of minors at the Art Hotel

1. Minors may only stay on the premises of the Hotel if accompanied by their legal guardians.
2. Children taking part in banquets or any other events held on the premises of the Hotel should be attended by their guardians.
3. When arriving at the hotel, children should be in possession of identification documents that allow the hotel staff to identify these children in accordance with the regulations being currently in force.
4. Persons travelling with children and not being the legal guardians of these children should present a written consent of the parent / legal guardian to travel with the minor at the hotel reception (a sample of such a consent is included in Attachment no. 1).
5. The reception staff is obliged to identify the minor and the relationship of this child with their guardian. To this end, they will ask for the children’s documents to be presented and for the guardians to fill in in the Minor Identification Card (see Attachment 2 for a model).
6. In the course of performing their duties, for instance during room cleaning or room service, the hotel staff must not stay alone with minors.
7. The hotel staff may not take care of minors using the hotel services in any way.
8. The staff is obliged to read and apply the Standards for the Protection of Minors as referred to in the Sexual Offences and Protection of Minors Act.

III. Standards for the Protection of Minors (SPM)

The procedures and policies contained in the SPM are designed to increase the staff awareness and knowledge about the safety of minors staying on the premises of the Art Hotel and to introduce a system of safeguards to minimise the risk of child abuse.

The following rules and procedures are applied if there is a reasonable suspicion that a child staying at the Hotel is exposed to harm and for the purpose of preventing it.

The Standards for the Protection of Minors at the Art Hotel are implemented based on the following rules: 

1.   The Art Hotel conducts its operational acitivities with due respect for the rights of children as individuals particularly vulnerable to harm.

2.   The Art Hotel recognises its role in running a socially reasonable business and promoting desirable social attitudes.

3.   The Art Hotel particularly stresses the importance of the legal and social obligation to notify law enforcement authorities whenever a crime is suspected to have been committed against children and undertakes to train its staff in this regard.

1. Terms:

For the purpose of this document, the following terms have been introduced:

1. Child/minor – for the purpose of these standards, it is assumed that a child is any person under the age of 18 years.[1]
2. Guardian of the child – a statutory representative of the child: parent or caretaker; foster parent; temporary guardian (i.e. a person authorised to represent a minor citizen of Ukraine who resides in the territory of the Republic of Poland unaccompanied by an adult)[2].
3. Other adult – any person over 18 years of age who is neither a parent nor a guardian of the child.  
4. Child abuse – is to be understood as a form of behaviour that may constitute the commission of a criminal act to the detriment of a child by any person, including an employee of an entity, or a threat to the welfare of a child, including neglect of a child; any intentional or unintentional action / inaction of an individual, institution or society as a whole and each result of such action / inaction which violates the rights, freedoms and personal rights of children and / or interferes with their optimal development.
5. Forms of violence against the child:

• Physical violence against a child is violence whereby a child suffers actual physical harm or is potentially at risk of physical harm. This harm occurs as a result of an action or inaction on the part of a parent or other person responsible for the child, or whom the child trusts or who has authority over the child. Physical violence against a child may be a repeated or one-off act.
• Psychological child abuse is a chronic, non-physical, harmful interaction between a child and a caregiver, involving both actions and inactions. It includes, but is not limited to: emotional unavailability, emotional neglect, a relationship with the child based on hostility, blaming, denigration, rejection, developmentally inappropriate or inconsistent interactions with the child, failure to recognise or acknowledge the child's individuality and psychological boundaries between parent and child.
• Sexual exploitation of a child is the involvement of a child in any sexual activity that the child is not capable of fully understanding and giving informed consent to, and/or to which the child is not developmentally mature and cannot consent in a legally valid manner, and/or which is incompatible with the legal or moral norms of a given society. Sexual exploitation happens when such activity occurs between a child and an adult or a child and another child, if these persons, due to their age or stage of development, are in a relationship of care, dependence, authority. Sexual exploitation can also take the form of sexual exploitation, that is, any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, power advantage, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, the financial, social or political gain from the sexual exploitation of another person. A particular threat of sexual exploitation occurs during humanitarian crises. The threat of exploitation exists against both children and their caregivers (definition after UN Bulletin ST/SGB/2003/13).
• Neglecting a child is the chronic or incidental failure to meet the child’s basic physical and psychological needs and / or failure to show respect for the child’s basic right, resulting in disruption to the child’s health and / or developmental difficulties. Neglect occurs in a child’s relationship with a person who has a duty of care, nurture, concern and protection to the child.

6. Crime against a child – all criminal offences that can be committed against adults and, in addition, offences that can be committed exclusively against children (e.g. Sexual Exploitation from Article 200 of the Criminal Code). Due to the nature of accommodation facilities, where seclusion can be easily obtained, the offences most likely to occur on their premises will be offences against sexual freedom and morality, in particular rape (Article 197 CC), sexual exploitation of insanity and helplessness (Article 198 CC), sexual exploitation of dependence or critical position (Article 199 CC), sexual exploitation of a person under 15 years of age (Article 200 CC), grooming (seduction of a minor by means of distance communication – Article 200a CC).
7. Other forms of child abuse than the commission of a criminal offence against a child – all forms of violence used against a child that do not meet the characteristics of a criminal offence prosecuted by public prosecution (e.g. shouting, humiliation, tugging, name-calling, neglect of needs, etc.).
8. An employee is a person employed under an employment contract or performing work under a similar contract (e.g. contract of mandate, B2B, contract for specific work), as well as an intern, trainee, volunteer, etc.
9. A child worker is any person who performs tasks or who is delegated to perform tasks related to the upbringing, education, recreation, treatment of minors, provision of psychological counselling, spiritual development, sports or pursuing any other interests by minors as well taking care of minors.
10. Act – Act of 13 May 2016 on the prevention of the threat of sexual offences and the protection of minors.

2. Facility Staff

General provisions

1. The Art Hotel undertakes to educate its employees in the scope of circumstances that might indicate that a child staying on the premises may be abused and how to respond thereto through various forms of training, e.g. external, internal training, e-learning, educational material developed by the hotel and available to employees, educational material available free of charge, developed by other organisations.
2. Each employee, before being allowed to work, shall be made aware of the Standards, which they shall then confirm by signing a proper declaration and undertaking to follow the rules and procedures contained in the document. The Standards are issued in form of a procedure.
3. The Art Hotel shall also take into account the situation of children with disabilities.   
4. If the Art Hotel introduces education / leisure services for children, then every person employed to work directly with children is to meet the requirement of the Act, which refers also to the services provided by external entities. 

Terms of reference for persons designated to implement the Standards for the Protection of Minors

1. Observing the Standards, i.e. SPM, is supervised by the Hotel General Manager - the SPM Coordinator, hereinafter referred to as the Coordinator, appointed by the Management Board. If the General Manager is absent from work, the Deputy Manager stands in, and if they are absent, the Reception Manager is in charge.
2. The Coordinator is a person responsible for making the employees acquainted with the provisions of the SPM as well as for monitoring their observance at the Hotel.
3. The Coordinator shall organise and document the process of educating staff on how to recognise the signs that a child staying at the facility may be abused and how to respond promptly and appropriately to such situations, in accordance with the procedures adopted by the facility.
4. The Coordinator shall complete the documentation for each event and store it both in paper and in electronic form.
5. If there is reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed, the Coordinator is responsible for securing the evidence, including the video surveillance footage, and hand it over to relevant authorities at their request – in accordance with the Data Sharing Procedure.
6. The Coordinator is responsible for carrying out the procedure when there has been harm to a child by a member of the facility staff or by another adult who is not directly employed by the Art Hotel, but by a third party.
7. The Coordinator is responsible for monitoring and updating the SPM and their availability to both staff, Guests and other entities cooperating with the facility.
8. The data of the Coordinator is available to all employees and – through the reception – also to the Guests of the Hotel.

Principles for a safe worker-child relationship

1. All employees of the Art Hotel as well as other adult persons who come into contact with children on the premises of the facility, if this contact is accepted by the facility, are obliged to follow these principles.
2. The guiding principles for all actions taken by the staff in contact with children staying on the premises of the Hotel is treating the child with due respect for the child itself and for the child’s dignity and needs.
3. It is unacceptable for the staff and other adults to use any forms of violence against the child.

1. Behaviour and practices expected of employees

• Be patient and respectful in your communication with the child.
• Listen carefully to the child and give the child answers appropriate to their age and the situation at hand. When communicating with the child, try to keep your face at the level of the child’s face.
• Assure the child that if he / she feels uncomfortable with a situation, they can ask you or another designated for help.
• Inform the child where at the facility they can find the SPM in a version understandable for them. Assure the child that should he / she have questions, they can come to you or to the receptionist and ask for help.
• Respect the equal treatment of children, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, ability / disability, social status, ethnicity, culture, religion and beliefs.
• Ensure a safe space. If there are children in the area where you are working, make sure that both the equipment and the supplies are used as intended and that the environment is safe (pay attention to window and stairway protection, limited access to busy roads, open water, etc.).
• If you see a child / children left unattended, and the situation may indicate that the safety of the child / children is endangered, take action to find the child’s / children’s parent / guardian.

2. Behaviour and practices being unacceptable for the staff towards children staying at the facility

• You must not shout at the child or shame, humiliate, disrespect and insult the child.
• You must not hit, poke, push 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 enter into any romantic or sexual relationship with the child or make inappropriate proposals to them. This includes sexual comments, jokes, gestures and sharing erotic or pornographic content with the child in any form.
• You must not record the child’s image for private or business purposes (recording, photographing) without the consent of the child’s parents / guardians and the consent of the child. This also applies to allowing third parties to record images of children. The exception to this is if the child’s image is only a detail of a whole, such as a gathering, landscape, public event, in which case the consent of the child’s parent / guardian is not required.
• You must not make contact with the child through private communication channels (private phone, e-mail, instant messaging, social media profiles) or meet the child outside the workplace.
• You must not offer alcohol, tobacco products or illegal substances to the child.
• Never touch the child if the child does not want you to, or in a way that may be considered indecent or inappropriate.

If you witness any of the aforementioned behaviour and / or situations on the part of other adults or children, always inform the Coordinator or your direct supervisor about it.

3. Procedure for identifying the child during check-in at the reception  

1. An effective way to prevent child abuse is establishing the identity of the child at the facility and their relationship to the adult with whom they are staying at the facility.
2. The receptionist shall take all possible steps to carry out the identification of the child and the relationship between the child and the adult who accompanies the child.
   1.  In order to identify the child and the child’s relationship to the person with whom they are staying at the facility, the member of the Staff verifies the documents of minors and adults. Example of documents that can be used for identification are: identity card, school card, MObywatel app, Internetowe Konto Pacjenta (Internet Patient Account), court decision.
   2. If the adult is a parent or legal guardian of the child, they fill in the declaration of a legal guardian, a sample of which can be found in the Attachment no. 1. 
   3. If the adult is not the child’s parent or legal guardian, they should present a document, e.g. a notarised consent of the parent for the person to travel with the child or a consent signed by the child’s parent with the child’s details, telephone number of the parent and the identity document number of the person to whom the parent has entrusted custody of the child (a sample of the guardian’s consent can be found in the Attachment no. 2) and complete the declaration from the same Attachment.
3. In case of any doubts as to the child’s identity and the relationship between the child and the adult, the member of the Staff will inform the Coordinator about it.
4. If there is a belief that a person has attempted or committed an offence against the child, the Coordinator shall notify the police thereof.

4. Procedure in case of circumstances indicating child abuse by an adult 
   1. Reasonable suspicion of child abuse occurs when: 

1. the child has disclosed the abuse to an employee of the facility,
2. an employee has observed the abuse,
3. the child bears traces of abuse (e.g. scratches, bruises) and, when questioned, responds incoherently and / or chaotically and / or becomes confused or there are other circumstances that may indicate abuse, e.g. child pornography found in an adult’s room.

2. An employee who has reasonable suspicion that the child staying at the facility is being or has been harmed should immediately notify their supervisor / coordinator thereof and they will then call the police. In case of an existing threat to a child’s safety, the employee who has reasonable suspicion that the child is being harmed shall notify the police by calling 112 and describe the circumstances of the event in detail.
3. Next, notwithstanding the above, the employee should notify the Coordinator of the incident.
4. The staff should endeavour to make it difficult or even impossible for the child and the person suspected of causing harm to the child to leave the Hotel.
5. In the case specified in the Code of Criminal Procedure, a citizen’s arrest of the suspected person is allowed.
6. In all cases, the safety of the child must be ensured. If possible, the child should be in the care of a member of the staff until the police arrive.

5. Procedure if there is a suspicion or evidence that a child is being abused by an employee or any other adult person

1. In case of a suspected abuse of the child by an employee or any other adult person who is not directly employed by the Art Hotel, but by a third party, the person who has become aware of the fact should immediately notify the Coordinator of this fact, and should the Coordinator be absent, then the Deputy Coordinator.
2. If the life or health of a child is in danger, the person that has become aware of this fact should immediately call the police under 112, giving their own data, the data of the child (if possible), the place of stay of the child as well as the circumstances and notify their supervisor / decision maker.
3. If an employee has committed any form of harm to a child other than a criminal offence to the child’s detriment, the Coordinator, once informed, should investigate all the circumstances of the case, in particular by listening to the employee suspected of having caused harm to a minor and to other witnesses to the incident. If the harm to the child’s welfare is significant, in particular, if there has been discrimination or a violation of the child’s dignity, the Coordinator should recommend to the Management Board of the company appropriate personnel action in relation to the employee in question.
4. If there is a suspicion that the Coordinator is an abusive person, it should be reported to the supervisor or any other department manager of the Art Hotel.
5. A person reporting a suspicion or finding a child abuse must not suffer any negative consequences of such a report, especially from the member of staff whom this person suspects of having harmed a child. Where possible and necessary, anonymity must be guaranteed to the persons reporting abuse.

6. Procedure in case of other forms of violence caused against a child by their parent / legal guardian or any other adult person

1. In case of discovering any harm caused to the child by the parent / legal guardian or any other adult accompanying the child at the facility, every employee being witness to such a fact should react thereto without delay.
2. If the life or health of a child is in danger, the person that has become aware of this fact, should immediately call the police under 112, giving their own data, the data of the child (if possible) and notify their supervisor / decision maker.
3. If an employee witnesses any physical violence against the child (spanking, tugging, shouting, others listed in the definition of physical violence), they should try to intervene and stop the abuse. 
4. If a child under 17 years of age is left unattended, the employee that has become aware of this fact should contact their supervisor. The supervisor that has been notified of this fact shall decide on the further course of action, taking into account the circumstances and the context of the provisions of the Criminal Code and the Code of Offences^[3]. Depending on this, the supervisor will make an attempt to find the parent / legal guardian or other adult with whom the child is staying at the facility and explain to them that children may not be left unattended. If finding the parent / legal guardian or other adult with whom the child is staying at the facility or if the parent / legal guardian / other adult does not want to and / or is not capable of taking care of the child, the supervisor notifies the police of this fact. In each case, the child’s safety is absolute priority.

7. Monitoring and evaluating the standards for the protection of minors

1. Every two years or whenever there is a change to the legislation in this area, the Coordinator will, after reviewing the comments and needs reported by the department head and staff, monitor and evaluate the standards for the protection of minors.
2. Monitoring and evaluating includes verifying the implementation of the Standards, responding to signals of breaking rules and procedures and proposing changes to the document, especially in terms of adapting it to current needs and its compliance with current legislation.

Attachment no. 1

LEGAL GUARDIAN'S CONSENT TO A CHILD'S STAY AT THE ART HOTEL IN WROCLAW

..................................................................

place and date

I, the undersigned ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

forename and surname

………………………………      …………………………………………   

series and number of identity card                            telephone number

I declare that I am the legal guardian of the child named:

...................................................................................................................................................................

(forename and surname of the child)

 date of birth ........................................... and I consent to the stay of my child at the Art Hotel  

within the following time period .............................................................................................................

under the care of ...............................................................................................................................................

(forename and surname of the person travelling with the child),

date of birth...........................type of document ................................ number of document ..............................

and I give my consent to the staff of the Art Hotel to contact me in matters related to any threats to my child's health, safety and life.

At the same time, I declare that I am aware of the voluntariness of the data that is necessary for concluding the contract (Article 6.1.b/ of the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons in relation to the processing of personal data and on the specific flow of such data and the repeal of Directive 95/46/EC - hereinafter: ‘GDPR’).

I declare that I have been informed that the controller of my personal data and of the data of the minor is the company "Art Hotel" Sp. z o.o, ul. Kiełbaśnicza 20, 50-110 Wrocław, Poland, for which the registration files are kept by the District Court for Wrocław-Fabryczna in Wrocław, VI Economic Division of the National Court Register under no. 0000090062, NIP (Tax Identification Number): PL 8971046888, REGON (National Business Registry Number): PL 93078233300000 with the share capital of PLN 100,000.00 and about the right to: access my personal data and the data of the minor, which includes obtaining a copy of the data, the right to rectify the data, demand cancelling the data, limit the processing of the data, lodge an objection to processing and transferring the data provided (the processing of which I have consented to) to another data controller.

I have been informed that my personal data and the data of the minor will be processed by Art Hotel Sp. z o.o. in connection with concluding the aforementioned contract, for archival purposes and until the expiry of the period of pursuing possible claims (Article 6(1)(a), (b) and (f) of the GDPR).

I have been informed that I also have the right to lodge a complaint with the President of the Data Protection Office.

I can access my personal data at the registered office of the Art Hotel Company. Questions or any information regarding the processing of personal data should be sent to: daneosobowe@arthotel.pl.

The Art Hotel transfers personal data to the following categories of entities: a company providing IT services to the hotel; companies providing legal and insurance services; state authorities and services entitled to receive personal data based on the relevant legislation, provided that they have appropriate legal grounds to request personal data.

                                                                                  ……………..……………………........................................……………………………………

date and legible signature of the legal guardian

Annex no. 2

MINOR’S IDENTIFICATION CARD

Pursuant to the Act of 13 May 2016 on counteracting the threat of sexual offences and the protection of minors (Journal of Laws 2016, item 862, as amended)

Data of the minor

Forename and surname .......................................................................................................................................

Date of birth ....................................................................................................................................................

Type and number of document ....................................................................................................................

Date of stay ............................................................................................................................................

Room number .....................................................

Identification of the relationship between the minor and the hotel guest

I AM the legal guardian of the child

I AM NOT the legal guardian of the child

At the same time, I declare that I am aware of the voluntariness of the data that is necessary for concluding the contract (Article 6.1.b/ of the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons in relation to the processing of personal data and on the specific flow of such data and the repeal of Directive 95/46/EC - hereinafter: ‘GDPR’).

I declare that I have been informed that the controller of my personal data and of the data of the minor is the company "Art Hotel" Sp. z o.o, ul. Kiełbaśnicza 20, 50-110 Wrocław, Poland, for which the registration files are kept by the District Court for Wrocław-Fabryczna in Wrocław, VI Economic Division of the National Court Register under no. 0000090062, NIP (Tax Identification Number): PL 8971046888, REGON (National Business Registry Number): PL 93078233300000 with the share capital of PLN 100,000.00 and about the right to: access my personal data and the data of the minor, which includes obtaining a copy of the data, the right to rectify the data, demand cancelling the data, limit the processing of the data, lodge an objection to processing and transferring the data provided (the processing of which I have consented to) to another data controller.

I have been informed that my personal data and the data of the minor will be processed by Art Hotel Sp. z o.o. in connection with concluding the aforementioned contract, for archival purposes and until the expiry of the period of pursuing possible claims (Article 6(1)(a), (b) and (f) of the GDPR).

I have been informed that I also have the right to lodge a complaint with the President of the Data Protection Office.

I can access my personal data at the registered office of the Art Hotel Company. Questions or any information regarding the processing of personal data should be sent to: daneosobowe@arthotel.pl.

The Art Hotel transfers personal data to the following categories of entities: a company providing IT services to the hotel; companies providing legal and insurance services; state authorities and services entitled to receive personal data based on the relevant legislation, provided that they have appropriate legal grounds to request personal data.

                    ……………..……………………………………….................................................…………………

Date and legible signature