Preamble
In view of the legal obligation arising from the provisions of the Act of May 13, 2016, on counteracting threats of criminal offenses of a sexual nature and 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, Głęboczek Vine Resort & SPA adopts the Standards for the Protection of Minors (also "SOM," "Standards"). This document is a set of rules and procedures applied in cases of suspicion that a child staying at Głęboczek Vine Resort & SPA is being harmed and to prevent such threats, taking into account the situation of children with disabilities and children with special educational needs.The Standards for the Protection of Minors at Głęboczek Vine Resort & SPA are implemented based on the following principles: 1. Głęboczek Vine Resort & SPA conducts its operational activities with respect for children's rights as individuals particularly sensitive to harm.
2. Głęboczek Vine Resort & SPA recognizes its role in conducting socially responsible business and promoting desirable social attitudes.
3. Głęboczek Vine Resort & SPA particularly emphasizes the importance of the legal and social obligation to notify law enforcement authorities of any suspected crime against children and commits to training its employees in this regard.
CHAPTER I.
FACILITY EMPLOYEES
2. Every employee is acquainted with SOM before being admitted to work, which is confirmed by submitting a statement and commitment to follow the rules and procedures contained in this document.
3. Employees hired to work with children are subject to periodic training, which is documented by the employer.
4. Głęboczek Vine Resort & SPA commits to taking into account the situation of children with disabilities and children with special educational needs, adapting guidelines to the specifics and scope of the facility's activities. Employing persons to work with children 1. Persons working with children must demonstrate through their employment history that they have not harmed any child in the past.
2. Every person employed/delegated by Głęboczek Vine Resort & SPA to work with children MUST be checked in the Register of Sexual Offenders. This also applies to employees under 18 years of age. The person is checked in the Register by printing the search results with restricted access, which is then placed in the employee's personal files.
3. Furthermore, every person employed/delegated to work with children must provide information from the National Criminal Register concerning crimes specified in Chapters XIX and XXV of the Criminal Code, articles 189a and 207 of the Criminal Code, and the Act of July 29, 2005, on Counteracting Drug Addiction (Journal of Laws 2023 item 172 and 2022 item 2600), or corresponding prohibited acts under foreign law.
4. If the employed/delegated person holds citizenship other than Polish, they should also present information from the criminal register of that country for professional or volunteer activities related to contact with children, or information from the criminal register if that country's law does not provide for such information for the stated purposes.
5. A statement shall also be collected from the employed/delegated person concerning countries of residence during the last 20 years, other than the Republic of Poland and the country of citizenship, made under penalty of criminal liability.
6. If the law of the country from which the certificate of good conduct is to be obtained does not provide for issuing such information or does not maintain a criminal register, the employed/delegated person shall submit a declaration under penalty of criminal liability stating that fact.
7. Under declarations submitted under penalty of criminal liability, a statement with the following content shall be submitted: "I am aware of the criminal liability for submitting a false statement." This replaces the authority's instruction about criminal liability for submitting a false statement.
8. In the case of using external service providers, the facility should include an appropriate clause in the contract that allows enforcement of the relevant standard regarding the checking of their employees for their safety toward children. The clause should enable the facility to control compliance under penalty of immediate contract termination and contractual penalties or other sanctions related to non-fulfillment of contractual conditions in this regard. Scope of competence and responsibility of persons appointed to implement the Standards for the Protection of Minors 1. Supervision over the application of SOM is conducted by the Entrepreneur.
2. The Entrepreneur appoints a SOM coordinator (hereinafter referred to as the "Coordinator").
3. The Coordinator is responsible for familiarizing employees with the content of SOM and monitoring their application in Głęboczek Vine Resort & SPA.
4. The Coordinator organizes and documents the employee education process
in recognizing symptoms that a child staying in the facility may be harmed and ways to respond quickly and appropriately to such situations, according to procedures adopted by the facility.
5. The Coordinator records every intervention or reported incident related
to child harm on the premises in a document created for this purpose (e.g., event log or intervention register).
6. In case of justified suspicion that a crime has been committed, the Coordinator is responsible for securing evidence, including video recordings, and handing them over upon request of authorities by registered mail or personally to the prosecutor or police.
7. The Coordinator is responsible for conducting the procedure when a child is harmed by a facility employee or another adult person who is not directly employed by Głęboczek Vine Resort & SPA but by a third party.
8. The Coordinator is responsible for monitoring and updating SOM and ensuring their availability to employees, guests, and other entities cooperating with the facility.
9. Coordinator's contact details are available to all employees and guests of the facility, including children. The details must include how to contact the Coordinator (email address, phone, availability: days and working hours).
Principles of safe employee-child relationships 1. All employees of Głęboczek Vine Resort & SPA, as well as other adults who have contact with children on the premises, are obliged to apply the following principles if such contact takes place with the facility's consent.
2. The primary principle of all actions taken by employees who have contact with children on the premises of Głęboczek Vine Resort & SPA is to treat the child with respect and consider their dignity and needs.
3. It is unacceptable for employees and other adults to use any form of violence against a child. A. Behaviors and practices expected from employees
● Be patient and respectful when communicating with the child.
● Listen carefully to the child and provide responses appropriate to their age and situation. When communicating, try to keep your face at the child's eye level.
● Assure the child that if they feel uncomfortable about any situation, they can tell you or another designated person and get help.
● Inform the child where the SOM are available in an understandable version. Assure that if they have questions, they can approach you or another designated person.
● Observe equal treatment of children regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, social, ethnic, cultural, religious status, or worldview.
● Ensure a safe space. If children are in your work area, make sure equipment and furnishings are used as intended and the environment is safe (consider window and staircase protections, limited access to busy roads, open water, etc.).
● If you see a child or children left unattended and the situation may indicate a threat to the child's safety, take action to find the parent/guardian. B. Behaviors and practices unacceptable from employees towards children on the premises
● You must not shout at, embarrass, humiliate, neglect or insult a child.
● You must not hit, shove, push or otherwise violate a child's physical integrity unless the child's health or life is at risk.
● You must not enter into any romantic or sexual relationship with a child or offer inappropriate proposals. This includes sexual comments, jokes, gestures, and providing children with erotic or pornographic content regardless of form.
● You must not record or photograph a child for private or official purposes without the consent of the child's parents/guardians and the child themselves. This also applies to allowing third parties to record images of children. The exception is when the child's image is only a part of a broader scene such as a gathering, landscape, public event, where parental consent is not required.
● You must not contact a child via private communication channels (private phone, email, messengers, social media profiles) nor meet with the child outside work.
● You must not offer the child alcohol, tobacco products, or illegal substances.
● Never touch a child if the child does not want it or in any way that may be considered indecent or inappropriate. If you witness any of the above behaviors and/or situations involving other adults or children, always inform the person responsible in the facility for implementing and monitoring SOM or your direct supervisor.
CHAPTER II.
CHILD IDENTIFICATION PROCEDURE DURING RECEPTION REGISTRATION
2. The reception employee takes every possible step to identify the child and their relationship with the accompanying adult.
3. To identify the child and their relationship to the accompanying adult, the following should be done:
a. ask for the child's identity document or another document confirming the adult's right to care for the child. Examples include ID card, school ID, MObywatel app, Internet Patient Account, court ruling. If no ID is presented or refused, request the child's data (name, surname, address, PESEL number).
b. If documents indicating kinship or care between the child and adult are missing or refused, ask both the adult and child about their relationship.
c. If the adult is not the child's parent or legal guardian, they should be asked to present a document such as a notarized parental consent for the person to travel with the child or consent signed by the child's parent including child's data, address, parent's phone contact, and ID/PESEL number of the person entrusted with care. If the adult does not have such documents, they should fill out a relevant statement prepared by the facility. The statement must include data of the child and adult and specify the relationship. The adult should declare that the parents/legal guardians consented to the care.
4. If the adult refuses to show the child's document and/or specify the relationship, it must be explained that the procedure is to ensure the safety of children using Głęboczek Vine Resort & SPA and that, according to the Act of May 13, 2016, employees must comply with child rights regulations. After positive explanation, thank them for their time to ensure the child is properly cared for.
5. If doubts about the adult and their intentions to harm the child remain after conversation, especially if they refuse to present ID or the child lacks one and refuses to submit a written statement, discreetly notify the supervisor and security staff (if present) without arousing suspicion (e.g., citing the need to use back-office equipment and asking the adult to wait with the child in the lobby, restaurant or another place).
6. From the moment doubts arise, both the child and the adult should, as much as possible, remain in the employee's sight and not be left alone.
7. The notified supervisor takes over the conversation with the adult to obtain further explanations.
8. If the conversation confirms the suspicion of an attempt or commission of a crime against the child, the supervisor reports it to the police and the procedure for suspected child harm is applied (see Chapter III).
9. If employees from other departments (e.g., cleaning, room service, bar and restaurant staff, relaxation zones, security, etc.) witness unusual and/or suspicious situations, they should immediately inform the supervisor or, in their absence, the decision-maker who will take appropriate action (see points 7 and 8 above).
10. Depending on the situation and location, the supervisor verifies the validity of the suspicion of child harm and takes appropriate measures to clarify the situation or decides to proceed with intervention and notify the police.
CHAPTER III.
PROCEDURE IN CASES INDICATING CHILD HARM BY AN ADULT
a. the child reveals to a facility employee the fact of harm,
b. the employee observes harm,
c. the child has signs of harm (e.g., scratches, bruises), and responds inconsistently or chaotically when asked and/or is embarrassed or circumstances indicate harm, e.g., pornography involving children found in the adult's room.
2. The employee who has justified suspicion that a child staying is or has been harmed should immediately notify the supervisor/decision-maker who informs the police. If the child's safety is immediately threatened, the employee should immediately notify the police by calling 112 and describing the circumstances. Regardless, the employee informs the Głęboczek Vine Resort & SPA Coordinator.
3. Efforts should be made to prevent or hinder the child and the suspected person from leaving the facility.
4. According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, a citizen's arrest of the suspected person may be made. Until police arrive, the person remains under supervision of security or other hotel employees without risking their health or life.
5. Child safety must always be ensured. The child should stay with a staff member until police arrive if possible. Support for the child should be attempted.
6. In case of justified suspicion of a crime associated with contact of the child with the perpetrator's biological material (sperm, saliva, skin cells), the child should not be allowed to wash or eat/drink until police arrive. The child should be explained the reasons for these restrictions.
7. After the child is taken over by the police, video monitoring footage and other important evidence (e.g., documents) related to the incident should be secured and handed over to the Coordinator, who will provide copies upon authorities' request.
8. After intervention, the incident should be reported to the Coordinator who documents it in an event log or other related document.
CHAPTER IV.
PROCEDURE IN CASE OF SUSPICION OR CONFIRMATION OF CHILD HARM BY AN EMPLOYEE OR ANOTHER ADULT
2. If the child's life or health is threatened, the person with this information should immediately notify the police by calling 112, providing their data, child's data (if possible), child's location, circumstances, and inform the supervisor/decision-maker, who informs the child's guardians/parents. The person who learned the incident should also inform the Coordinator in writing or by email.
3. If an employee commits a form of harm other than a crime against the child, the Coordinator should investigate all circumstances, in particular by hearing the suspected employee and other witnesses. If the violation is significant, especially discrimination or dignity infringement, the Coordinator should recommend appropriate personnel measures by the person managing the facility.
4. If the person who caused harm is not directly employed but by a third party (e.g., outsourcing), a ban on their entry should be recommended and, if necessary, the contract with the third party terminated.
CHAPTER V.
PROCEDURE IN CASE OF OTHER FORMS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST A CHILD BY A PARENT/LEGAL GUARDIAN OR ANOTHER ADULT
2. If the child's life or health is threatened, the person who learns of this should immediately notify the police by calling 112, giving own data, child's data (if possible), child's location, circumstances, and inform the supervisor/decision-maker. The informer also notifies the Coordinator by mail or in writing.
3. If the employee witnesses physical violence against the child (slapping, shaking, shouting, other physical violence), they should try to stop the harm and react.
4. If a child under 7 years old is left unattended, the employee informed should notify the supervisor who decides on further actions considering circumstances and the Penal Code and Code of Offenses. The supervisor tries to find the parent/legal guardian or other adult with the child and explains they cannot leave the child unattended. If the parent/legal guardian/adult cannot be found or refuses/incapable of taking care, the supervisor notifies police. Child safety must always be ensured.
CHAPTER V.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF THE STANDARDS FOR THE PROTECTION OF MINORS
2. The Entrepreneur defines the scope of the Coordinator's tasks and competencies regarding preparing employees to apply SOM, rules for employee preparation, and documentation of these activities.
3. The Coordinator referred to above conducts monitoring and evaluation of SOM every two years.
4. Monitoring and evaluation include verifying the implementation of the Standards, responding to signals of breach of rules and procedures, and proposing document amendments, especially to adapt them to current needs and compliance with applicable regulations.
5. The Coordinator conducts a survey among Głęboczek Vine Resort & SPA employees every two years to monitor the level of SOM implementation.
6. In the survey, employees can propose changes and indicate breaches of SOM rules and procedures at the facility.
7. The Coordinator prepares the analysis of completed surveys, drafts a monitoring report submitted to the Entrepreneur. The Entrepreneur introduces necessary changes and announces the new wording of the Standards to employees.
CHAPTER VI.
FINAL PROVISIONS
2. The hotel makes the Standards available on its website and on an information board or at reception. Glossary: For the purpose of this document, the meanings of the following terms have been clarified:
1. Tourist facilities – hotel facilities and other establishments providing hotel services defined in the Act of August 29, 1997, on hotel services and tour guides.
2. Child/minor – for the purposes of these standards, a child is any person under 18 years of age.
3. Child guardian – legal representative of the child: parent or guardian; foster parent; temporary guardian (i.e., a person authorized to represent a minor Ukrainian citizen staying in the territory of the Republic of Poland without adult care).
4. Stranger adult – any person over 18 who is not a parent or legal guardian of the child.
5. Child harm – understood as behavior that may constitute a criminal act against a child by any person, including an employee, or a threat to the child's welfare including neglect; any intentional or unintentional action or omission by an individual, institution, or society as a whole that violates children's rights, freedoms, and personal goods and/or disrupts their optimal development.
6. Forms of violence against a child:
● Physical violence is violence causing actual or potential physical harm to a child. It results from actions or omissions by a parent or other responsible person or trusted person exercising power over the child. It may be repeated or singular.
● Psychological violence is chronic, non-physical harmful interaction between a child and caregiver, including actions and omissions, such as emotional unavailability, emotional neglect, hostility, blaming, rejecting, inappropriate or inconsistent interactions, ignoring individuality and psychological boundaries.
● Sexual abuse is involving a child in sexual activity they cannot fully understand or consent to, or which is illegal or socially inappropriate. It includes activity between child and adult or child and child in relationship of care, dependency, power. It can also include sexual exploitation, abusing vulnerability or trust for sexual purposes, including financial or social gains, especially during humanitarian crises. Exploitation threats extend to children and their caregivers (as defined by UN Bulletin ST/SGB/2003/13).
● Neglect is chronic or episodic failure to meet basic physical and mental needs and/or rights leading to health or developmental problems. It occurs in the child-caregiver relationship.
7. Crime against a child – all crimes possible against adults and additionally those that can be committed only against children (e.g., sexual abuse under Art. 200 of the Criminal Code). Due to the nature of accommodation facilities where isolation can be easy, common crimes include those against sexual freedom and morality, especially rape (Art. 197), exploitation of incapacity (Art. 198), exploiting dependency or critical position (Art. 199), abusing person under 15 (Art. 200), grooming (Art. 200a).
8. Other forms of child harm than crime – all forms of violence against a child that do not meet the criminal offense criteria (e.g., shouting, humiliating, shaking, insulting, neglecting needs).
9. Employee means a person employed under a contract of employment or similar (e.g., mandate contract, B2B, contract for provision of services), including interns, trainees, volunteers.
10. An employee working with children is anyone performing or delegated tasks related to upbringing, education, leisure, treatment, psychological counseling, spiritual development, sports, or other interests involving minors or care for them.
11. Entrepreneur – body/entity/person managing a facility or chain of facilities responsible for its proper formal functioning.
