Bearing in mind the obligation under the Act of 13 May 2016. on the prevention of the threat of sexual offences and the protection of minors, the obligation to impose standards on hotel and tourism service providers, as well as those running other collective accommodation, to the extent necessary to ensure the protection of minors, and recognising the important role of business in ensuring respect for the rights of Children, in particular the right to protection of their dignity and freedom from any form of harm Hotel Ottaviano adopts this document as a model for standards, policies and procedures in the event of a suspicion of harm to a Child staying at Hotel Ottaviano and the prevention of such risks.
1. Hotel Ottaviano conducts its operational activities with the utmost respect for human rights, in particular the rights of Children as persons particularly vulnerable to harm.
2. Hotel Ottaviano recognises its role in conducting a socially responsible business and promoting desirable social attitudes.
3. The Ottaviano Hotel in particular stresses the importance of the legal and social obligation to notify law enforcement authorities of any suspected offence committed against Children and undertakes to train its staff in this regard.
4. Hotel Ottaviano undertakes to educate staff on circumstances indicating that a Child in the facility may be harmed and on how to respond quickly and appropriately to such situations.
1. Child – any person under 18 years of age;
2. Harm to a Child – the commission of an offence or criminal act to the detriment of a Child by any person, including a member of Staff, or a threat to the welfare of a Child, including neglect of a Child. To the detriment of the Child, all offences that can be committed against adults can be committed, in addition to offences that can only be committed against Children (e.g. sexual abuse under Article 200 of the Criminal Code). Due to the specific nature of tourist facilities, where seclusion can easily be obtained, the offences most likely to occur on their premises will be offences against sexual freedom and morality, in particular rape (Art. 197 of the Penal Code), sexual exploitation of insanity and helplessness (art. 198 of the Penal Code), sexual exploitation of dependence or critical position (art. 199 of the Penal Code), sexual exploitation of a person under 15 years of age (art. 200 of the Penal Code), grooming (seduction of a minor by means of remote communication – art. 200a of the Penal Code);
3. Guardian of the Child – a person entitled to represent the Child, in particular the Child’s parent or legal guardian. Under the Standards, a guardian is also a foster parent;
4. Personnel – a person employed at Hotel Ottaviano under a contract of employment, a civil contract or a member of an organisation.
1. When accepting a Child for a stay at Hotel Ottaviano, whenever possible, identification of the Child and his/her relationship with the adult with whom he/she is staying at the hotel should be made.
2. it is compulsory for Reception Staff to carry out identification of the Child in unusual and suspicious situations indicating that there is a risk of harm to the Child.
3 In order to identify the Child and his/her relationship to the person with whom he/she is staying at the hotel, you must:
1) ask about the Child’s identity and the Child’s relationship to the person with whom the Child has arrived at or is staying in the hotel. For this purpose, you can ask for the Child’s identity document or another document confirming that the adult has the right to take care of the Child (e.g. civil status certificate, court decision). If no identity document is available, you may be asked to provide the Child’s details (name, surname, address, PESEL number);
2) in the absence of documents indicating the relationship between the Child and the Adult, the Adult and the Child should be asked about this relationship;
3) if the adult is not the Child’s Guardian, ask if they have a document showing the Child’s Guardians’ consent for the adult to travel together with the Child (e.g. a written statement giving consent from at least one of the Child’s parents/legal guardians);
4) if the adult does not have a document of consent from the Child’s Guardians, the telephone number of the above should be requested in order to call and confirm that the Child is staying at the hotel with a strange adult with the knowledge and consent of the Child’s Guardians.
4. In the event of resistance on the part of an adult to produce the Child’s document or to indicate the relationship, it should be explained that the procedure serves to ensure the safety of the Children using the Hotel Ottaviano and that such an obligation arises from the provisions of generally applicable law.
5. If the conversation does not dispel doubts about suspicion towards the adult and his/her intentions to harm the Child, discreetly notify the Hotel Manager or his/her designee. In order not to arouse suspicion, you could, for example, refer to the need to use the equipment at the back of reception, asking the adult to wait with the Child in the lobby, restaurant or elsewhere.
6. from the point at which concerns first arise, both the Child and the adult should be under constant observation by Staff and not left alone.
7. The Hotel Manager or his/her designee shall decide whether to notify the police or, if in doubt, take over the interview of the suspect adult for further clarification.
8. Where the conversation confirms a belief that a crime has been attempted or committed against a Child, the supervisor shall notify the police. The rules continue to apply in the event of circumstances indicating harm to the Child.
9. in the event that unusual or suspicious situations are witnessed by Staff of other organisational units, e.g. cleaning service, room service, bar and restaurant staff, security, they should immediately notify the Hotel Director or his/her designee, who will decide on appropriate action to be taken.
1. Staff are knowledgeable about and pay attention to risk factors and symptoms of Child Abuse as part of their duties.
2. Staff shall immediately inform the Hotel Director of any suspected abuse of a Child.
3. Intervention shall be carried out by the Hotel Director, who may appoint another person for this task, unless the actions of the Staff in this regard are sufficient.
4. reasonable suspicion of Child Abuse occurs when:
1) The child has disclosed the abuse to Staff,
2) Staff observed harm,
3) The child has signs of abuse on him/her (e.g. scratches, bruises) and when asked responds incoherently and/or chaotically and/or becomes embarrassed or there are other circumstances that may indicate abuse e.g. finding pornographic material involving Children in an adult’s room;
4) The Child’s Guardian or a third party reports that the Child is being abused.
5. If a Child is suspected of being abused by another Child staying at the hotel (e.g. in a group activity), a conversation should be held with the Child suspected of being abused (possibly in front of the Child’s Guardian) and the Child’s Guardian, and separately with the Child being abused (possibly in front of the Child’s Guardian) and the Child’s Guardian.
6. In the event of a suspicion that a Child is experiencing violence with damage to health, sexual abuse and/or his/her life is at risk from another Child or repeated physical violence, repeated psychological violence or repeated disturbing other behaviour, the intervening person is additionally obliged to file a criminal report or notify the nearest family court.
7. In the event of suspected abuse of a Child by the Child’s Carer/person with whom he/she is staying in the hotel in the form of:
1) violence with harm, sexual abuse and/or his/her life is at risk, the Staff shall ensure the safety of the Child and separate him/her from the Child’s Guardian/the person with whom he/she is staying suspected of abuse and notify the police on 112 or 997;
2) other offences, the intervening person is obliged to notify the police or the public prosecutor’s office by filing a notice of possible offence;
3) one-off other physical violence (e.g. spanking, pushing, poking), psychological violence (e.g. humiliation, discrimination, ridicule) or other disturbing behaviour (i.e. shouting, inappropriate comments), the Staff is obliged to ensure the safety of the Child, conduct a conversation with the Child’s Guardian/ the person with whom he/she is staying suspected of abuse, in the case of repeated violence, the intervening person is obliged to notify the appropriate social welfare centre, at the same time submitting an application to the family court for inspection of the family situation.
8. If a member of Staff suspects that a Child is being abused by a third party (including a member of Staff) in the form of:
1) violence with damage to health, sexual abuse and/or his/her life is at risk, the Staff shall ensure the safety of the Child and separate him/her from the suspected abuser and notify the police at 112 or 997;
2) other types of offences, the Staff shall ensure the safety of the Child and separate him/her from the person suspected of harming him/her and inform the police or the public prosecutor’s office in writing, filing a report on the possibility of a crime;
3) one-off other physical violence (e.g. spanking, pushing, poking) or psychological violence (e.g. humiliation, discrimination, ridicule), the Staff is obliged to ensure the safety of the Child and to separate the Child from the suspected abuser. The intervening person is obliged to terminate the relationship with the person harming the Child;
4) other disturbing behaviour (i.e. shouting, inappropriate comments), the Staff are obliged to ensure the safety of the Child and separate him/her from the person suspected of harming him/her and the intervening person is obliged to conduct a disciplinary conversation and, if there is no improvement, to terminate the cooperation.
9. In a situation of suspected Child Abuse, the Child and the person suspected of Child Abuse must be prevented from leaving the hotel.
10. In justified cases, a civil detention of a suspected person may be made. In such a situation, the person must be kept under the supervision of two staff members in a separate room away from the view of other Guests until the police arrive.
11. In all cases, care should be taken for the safety of the Child. The child should be in the care of a member of staff until the police arrive.
12. if there is a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed involving contact between the Child and the perpetrator’s biological material (sperm, saliva, epidermis), the Child should be prevented from washing and eating/drinking as far as possible until the police arrive.
13. Once the Police have collected the Child, the CCTV footage and other relevant evidence (e.g. documents) relating to the incident must be secured and, if requested by the Service, a copy must be forwarded by registered post or in person to the Public Prosecutor or the Police.
14. Staff and the intervening person must make a staff note of the incident and the action taken. The note may be in writing or by email.
15. Following an intervention, the incident must be described in the record of incidents endangering the welfare of the Child. The record of incidents endangering the welfare of the Child shall be maintained by the person designated by the Hotel Manager.
1. all persons working with Children must be safe for Children, which means, among other things, that their employment history should indicate that they have not harmed any Child in the past.
2. Personnel employed by the hotel for work related to education, leisure and childcare must be compulsorily checked against the Sex Offender Register. The checking of a person in the Sexual Offenders Register is done by printing out the results of a search of the person in the Sexual Offenders Register with restricted access, which is then attached to the personal file of the person checked. The check should be repeated annually.
3. All staff employed to work with children, including those who may have potential contact with children, should declare that they have no criminal record and that there are no prosecutions for acts against children.
1. The guiding principle of all actions taken by Staff is to act for the benefit and in the best interests of the Child.
2. Staff shall treat the Child with respect and take into account the Child’s dignity and needs. It is unacceptable to use violence against the Child in any form. Staff, in pursuing these objectives, act within the framework of the applicable law, the organisation’s internal regulations and their own competences.
3. Staff are required to maintain a professional relationship with Children and consider each time whether a response, message or action towards a Child is appropriate to the situation, safe, reasonable and fair to other Children.
4. You must not embarrass, humiliate, disrespect or insult the Child. Do not shout at a Child in a situation other than for the safety of the Child or other Children.
5. Sensitive information about the Child must not be disclosed to unauthorised persons, including other Children. This includes the Child’s image, information about his/her family, economic, medical, welfare and legal situation.
6. Staff are required to reassure Children that if they feel uncomfortable in a situation, towards a particular behaviour or words, they can tell the Hotel Staff and can expect an appropriate response and/or assistance.
7. Alcohol, tobacco products or illegal substances must not be offered to Children or used in the presence of Children.
8. Any violent action against the Child is unacceptable.
9. Contact with Children should only take place during working hours and for purposes within the scope of the Staff’s duties. It is not permitted to invite Children to one’s place of residence or to meet them outside working hours. This includes contact with Children through private communication channels (private phone, email, instant messaging, social media profiles).
